The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)

Jonathan Stroud

It's present day ghost filled London and 15 year old Lucy Carlyle has a special talent. She has the talent of hearing and empathy through touch. This special talent lands her a job with Lockwood & Co. They're one of the many Detection Agencies out there that spend nights in haunted houses to eradicate the ghosts (which there are different types) All cases have been pretty standard, a few deaths here and there but Lucy seems to be at home, even with the dry humour of George. All is well until a case goes horribly wrong and the agency's reputation is on the line. The team have to spend a night in one of the most haunted houses in England to rectify what has been done. What they find is not what they expected and definitely not what they had prepared for.

After many recommendations to read this book, I finally did recently and why I had not read it sooner I have no idea. I was not prepared for the images that I conjured up and will never get rid of. This book is not only different from most other YA novels, it's also incredibly scary. If it wasn't for the humour and charm of Lockwood or the dry sarcastic comments of the "pudgey" George, then I would definitely not have slept. The way ghosts are described are a far cry from the world of Casper and a little bit towards The Woman in Black (p.s do not watch that movie by yourself) Another great difference is that the ghosts can actually kill you if you are "ghost touched". There's the usual, find the source and get rid of the ghost but it's so casually and naturally done that you don't think it's a cliché. There are also different types of ghosts. Ranging from Type 1 to Type 4 which only one agency has ever claimed to have seen. 

The way Stroud describes Lucy is awesome. She's not a typical pretty girl but still wears a skirt and cares about her appearance while carrying her Rapier (massive cool ghost killing sword) -even though this doesn't seem obvious, it's written in the lines of when she's jealous of all the glamour girls in the magazines that Lockwood reads. This is a good point for young girl readers as it means that you don't have to wear pants (figuratively and literally) to be kick ass and ambitious. 

Highly recommend reading this with the light on...and maybe even sleep with the light on. You will start to think that the slightest breeze in your room is something out of the book and hearing old house creaks is always fun when reading about ghosts. It's classed as a 9-12 age group Intermediate Fiction book but if you are not used to reading scary stories (Goosebumps still does the job) then I would recommend for an older age group. 12+. Just whatever you do, be prepared for The Red Room. Your nights will never be the same again...

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska

John Green

Pudge (Miles) has always led a non eventful life, until his last year of  high school when he chooses to go to Culver Creek Boarding School. With his obsession with famous last words and his lanky skinny body that earns him the ironic nickname Pudge, he becomes friends with his roommate The Colonel and while seeking the 'Great Perhaps' he finds it unexpectedly in the form of the beautiful Alaska Young.

Adoration for this book is an understatement. It's hard to believe this is John Green's first novel, especially if you've read some of his more recent works. This coming of age story has elements of Catcher in the Rye, but is in it's own category for the teen of today (watch out, there's swearing!). All characters have their own quirk and geekness about them. Pudge loves famous last words, The Colonel loves strategies and is a real mastermind and Alaska, well, Alaska is the very cool and unpredictable mysterious girl that captures the heart of Pudge. Oh yeah, and she loves collecting books:

"Have you really read all those books in your rooms?"

Alaska laughing -"Oh God no. I've maybe read a third of 'em. But I'm going to read them all. I call it my Life's Library. Every summer since I was little, I've gone to garage sales and bought all the books that looked interesting. So I always have something to read." -I think we can all relate to that.

A gripping read that captures your heart but not in the romantic sense. The idea of boarding school is always cool and rebellious but this book shows that in reality, it's quite lonely. I suggest reading this book at 16 years of age and then reading it again in your mid 20s. To truly understand a coming of age novel, you need to do exactly that: come of age. Every emotion comes to surface and you really feel for all the characters. You may think that Pudge needs to grow a pair or that The Colonel needs to take a chill pill and that Alaska seriously needs to stop pretending that everything is ok. But I guess that's just all part of Green's "Great Perhaps."