Battle of the Beasts: House of Secrets, Book 2

Parents need to know that Battle of the Beasts is the second book in the House of Secrets series coauthored by the late Ned Vizzini and Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies and writer of the scripts for The Goonies and Gremlins. Kids who dug the first in the series are in for more of the same nonstop action here with the same high dose of action-adventure violence. Luckily for the three kids at the center of the story, they can't be killed by their nemesis the Wind Witch. She possesses one kid and comes out of her body through her mouth, tries to blow apart another with wind (yelling "Why can't you just...die! Die! Die!" at a 9-year-old), and stabs the third, with no lasting results. One character is hung upside-down, covered in cheese, and set upon by rats, but he survives. Other characters aren't that lucky: Two men are thrown in front of a bus, some fall from cliffs, some get hit by gunfire and bombs, and some are sacrificed to giant beasts. This sequel's low on other types of mature content: Brands are mentioned in passing, a Brit shouts out "bloody hell" a few times, Cordelia gets a few flirty kisses, and Brendan spits out an alcoholic drink. One character finds himself tempted by power and fame and learns his lesson about what's really important.