Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., Bk 1) on + 380 more book reviews
Summary:
Lucy, Anthony, and George are Lockwood & Co., a teen ghost detection and containment company. It seems that London is seeing an increase in visitors, ghosts that only children can see, so Lockwood & Co. are there to help. They use their skills and weapons to handle the visitor problem. Unfortunately a job goes terribly wrong and threatens the stability of the company. In order to save it, the three take on a job at the most haunted place in London, Combe Carey Hall. Will they be able to face all of the dangers inside or will the company not be the only thing they lose?
My thoughts:
Stroud brings to life each of the three characters in a way that allows the reader to fall in love with them in spite of some obvious flaws. Each of them is unsure of their place in the world and their place with one another. This is not a true blue diehard friendship right from the beginning. Through Lucy's eyes, we see how each character interacts with their friendship and with how they deal with danger as it is thrown their way. Lucy is extremely intelligent and she is a little snarky at times, but her companions are really the ones with the humor. Even in parts that are a little scary, the boys can be counted on for a laugh (not usually on purpose). While setting this up for a series, Stroud does build a fair amount of adventure into this first book. The pacing is spot on and keeps you wanting to read more, but there is a significant problem with Combe Carey Hall and the resolution does not leave you screaming at the author for not having the next book out immediately. There are strands to connect books together, but I'm hoping that these will be able to be read as stand alones as well.
Lucy, Anthony, and George are Lockwood & Co., a teen ghost detection and containment company. It seems that London is seeing an increase in visitors, ghosts that only children can see, so Lockwood & Co. are there to help. They use their skills and weapons to handle the visitor problem. Unfortunately a job goes terribly wrong and threatens the stability of the company. In order to save it, the three take on a job at the most haunted place in London, Combe Carey Hall. Will they be able to face all of the dangers inside or will the company not be the only thing they lose?
My thoughts:
Stroud brings to life each of the three characters in a way that allows the reader to fall in love with them in spite of some obvious flaws. Each of them is unsure of their place in the world and their place with one another. This is not a true blue diehard friendship right from the beginning. Through Lucy's eyes, we see how each character interacts with their friendship and with how they deal with danger as it is thrown their way. Lucy is extremely intelligent and she is a little snarky at times, but her companions are really the ones with the humor. Even in parts that are a little scary, the boys can be counted on for a laugh (not usually on purpose). While setting this up for a series, Stroud does build a fair amount of adventure into this first book. The pacing is spot on and keeps you wanting to read more, but there is a significant problem with Combe Carey Hall and the resolution does not leave you screaming at the author for not having the next book out immediately. There are strands to connect books together, but I'm hoping that these will be able to be read as stand alones as well.
Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., Bk 1) on + 2527 more book reviews
I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I really enjoyed Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy and was excited to read another middle grade fantasy by him. This book is more of a paranormal/horror read and I really enjoyed it.
This book is set in a London where ghosts have become deadly. The main character, Lucy, helps to investigate and eliminate hauntings. This is something only kids can do because people lose the power to see ghosts as they get older. Lucy ends up as part of a three person team whose job it is to take care of these ghostly problems. Since all kids see ghosts better than adults most of the characters are preteen or in their early teens.
This is a very interesting world with some interesting implications for society...society is basically completely dependent on kids or young adults to neutralize all ghostly threats. This puts a number of young kids in positions of power and gives them the ability to run their own businesses, as in the case of Lockwood.
Lucy is an interesting character, she has been in some bad situations and constantly doubts herself. She has some very strong supernatural abilities and the ability to Listen to ghosts. However Lucy is a survivor and does what she needs to survive.
Lockwood is a deceptively upbeat and plucky character. He is a bit rash at times, but there is more to his character than there first seems. He cares about his employees and, despite his rashness, does his best to give his employees a good place to live. He's always looking for the next big thing that will make Lockwood and Co successful.
The plot is well done. What starts out as a fairly typical seeming haunting unfolds into a large mystery. Our characters end up in a truly terrifying haunted mansion where they have to use all of their abilities and wits to survive.
Some of this book is very creepy and these parts made the book very hard to put down. I didn't like this book quite as much as the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but it was still very well written and very entertaining to read.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely be reading more books in this series. It was a wonderful start to a new series and I really loved the world and enjoyed the characters. I recommend this to those who love creepy supernatural reads.
This book is set in a London where ghosts have become deadly. The main character, Lucy, helps to investigate and eliminate hauntings. This is something only kids can do because people lose the power to see ghosts as they get older. Lucy ends up as part of a three person team whose job it is to take care of these ghostly problems. Since all kids see ghosts better than adults most of the characters are preteen or in their early teens.
This is a very interesting world with some interesting implications for society...society is basically completely dependent on kids or young adults to neutralize all ghostly threats. This puts a number of young kids in positions of power and gives them the ability to run their own businesses, as in the case of Lockwood.
Lucy is an interesting character, she has been in some bad situations and constantly doubts herself. She has some very strong supernatural abilities and the ability to Listen to ghosts. However Lucy is a survivor and does what she needs to survive.
Lockwood is a deceptively upbeat and plucky character. He is a bit rash at times, but there is more to his character than there first seems. He cares about his employees and, despite his rashness, does his best to give his employees a good place to live. He's always looking for the next big thing that will make Lockwood and Co successful.
The plot is well done. What starts out as a fairly typical seeming haunting unfolds into a large mystery. Our characters end up in a truly terrifying haunted mansion where they have to use all of their abilities and wits to survive.
Some of this book is very creepy and these parts made the book very hard to put down. I didn't like this book quite as much as the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but it was still very well written and very entertaining to read.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely be reading more books in this series. It was a wonderful start to a new series and I really loved the world and enjoyed the characters. I recommend this to those who love creepy supernatural reads.
