You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Medical content, Classism
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I watched the TV show first and this explained a lot that was unclear in the show (like how exactly ghost touch killed people) but the writing wasn’t as good and all the fat jokes towards George were really annoying. Overall enjoyable book but the show was better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Audiobook, English
I really liked the narrator's voice. It was to listen to during train rides, doing puzzles, etc. Sadly the next books are not also narrated by the same person.
Story wise it was a solid book. The pairing of one female character with two male characters has been done way too many times in my opinion.
I really liked the narrator's voice. It was to listen to during train rides, doing puzzles, etc. Sadly the next books are not also narrated by the same person.
Story wise it was a solid book. The pairing of one female character with two male characters has been done way too many times in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I went into this having already seen the TV adaptation, which I like a whole lot, so I did have a bias toward it going in. I don't remember the details of the plot in the show, so I don't know how it truly differs, other than the fact the show adds some extra padding to Lucy's hometown backstory, I'm still undecided if this difference is for better or worse, I'll know once I've read more of the series, but as of now I do not think it was lacking for it. The Screaming Staircase just gets right into it, which I love, yes there are a lot of terms to learn right off the bat but I think it's written in a way where you gather the meaning quickly, I never needed the glossary that's helpfully at the back of the book.
Really fun read! I usually struggle through books until the halfway point where I start getting into the groove of it, I did not once struggle through this :) Very interesting world Stroud has created.
My one qualm with it would be the writing of George. Albeit not the worst case of a fat character I've seen, but still not very kind. It's more heavy on it in the beginning when he is introduced, making the middle-end less irritating. Seriously you don't need to describe every aspect of him as 'pudgy' every opportunity you get Mr. Stroud, I got it the first time. I don't think it helps that he is the one character our protagonist Lucy happens to despise, with little reason too. The way she describes him is mean-spirited. Thanks to the show, I'm aware this rift between the characters is essential for the way the story continues, but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth how the only fat main character is the one written to be hated, and he lovessss to eat, and eats messily.... STILL I insist it isn't as bad as it could be! I've read some truly awfully written fat characters, and this isn't close. I personally love George as a character, I think he adds a good balance to Lockwood and Lucy's reckless headstrong tendencies, and I'm hoping by the end of the series they fully appreciate him and what he does for the team.
A fairly strong start to the series for me, and I will absolutely be continuing.
Really fun read! I usually struggle through books until the halfway point where I start getting into the groove of it, I did not once struggle through this :) Very interesting world Stroud has created.
My one qualm with it would be the writing of George. Albeit not the worst case of a fat character I've seen, but still not very kind. It's more heavy on it in the beginning when he is introduced, making the middle-end less irritating. Seriously you don't need to describe every aspect of him as 'pudgy' every opportunity you get Mr. Stroud, I got it the first time. I don't think it helps that he is the one character our protagonist Lucy happens to despise, with little reason too. The way she describes him is mean-spirited. Thanks to the show, I'm aware this rift between the characters is essential for the way the story continues, but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth how the only fat main character is the one written to be hated, and he lovessss to eat, and eats messily.... STILL I insist it isn't as bad as it could be! I've read some truly awfully written fat characters, and this isn't close. I personally love George as a character, I think he adds a good balance to Lockwood and Lucy's reckless headstrong tendencies, and I'm hoping by the end of the series they fully appreciate him and what he does for the team.
A fairly strong start to the series for me, and I will absolutely be continuing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
I mean.
It's not that I didn't finish it because the plot was bad, or that I grabbed it about 15-20 years too late to identify with the teen protagonists and not the government people that kept telling them (rightly) that they were bad at hunting ghosts and should be shut down. I could live with that. I know what reading YA books as an adult looks like. The plot was good, the world-building pretty solid, and the atmosphere lively and compelling.
But as a fat person with glasses and the (apparently unreasonable) habit of trusting my home is a safe enough space to eat what I want while wearing sweatpants, every insult, every fat joke, every reminder that George is basically a disgusting fat sack of shit, well, it felt pretty damn personal. I know we live in a fatphobic society, but holy fuck, it's been a long time since I've seen this much fatphobic vitriol thrown around and played as a joke. The endless descriptions of flabby bodies and disgusting eating habits and pointless nudity and literal comparisons to wet towels and sacks of butter, and the pathetic attempts to convince the audience that that's what a smart, funny joke looks like, they were more than I could handle. It's quite disappointing because Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy is still one of my favourite series, and I really wanted to like this one. Instead, I ended up hating the guts of both Lockwood (a bully) and Lucy (a useless bully who is actually extremely irresponsible and bad at her job).
I honestly hope that by the end of the book George left them both to be eaten by ghosts and got a job in a new agency that actually valued and listened to him instead of constantly making him the target for their insults and ignoring life-saving information and advice just because they're too invested in their fucking abuse of him to actually care about what he has to say. But I have my doubts.
It's not that I didn't finish it because the plot was bad, or that I grabbed it about 15-20 years too late to identify with the teen protagonists and not the government people that kept telling them (rightly) that they were bad at hunting ghosts and should be shut down. I could live with that. I know what reading YA books as an adult looks like. The plot was good, the world-building pretty solid, and the atmosphere lively and compelling.
But as a fat person with glasses and the (apparently unreasonable) habit of trusting my home is a safe enough space to eat what I want while wearing sweatpants, every insult, every fat joke, every reminder that George is basically a disgusting fat sack of shit, well, it felt pretty damn personal. I know we live in a fatphobic society, but holy fuck, it's been a long time since I've seen this much fatphobic vitriol thrown around and played as a joke. The endless descriptions of flabby bodies and disgusting eating habits and pointless nudity and literal comparisons to wet towels and sacks of butter, and the pathetic attempts to convince the audience that that's what a smart, funny joke looks like, they were more than I could handle. It's quite disappointing because Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy is still one of my favourite series, and I really wanted to like this one. Instead, I ended up hating the guts of both Lockwood (a bully) and Lucy (a useless bully who is actually extremely irresponsible and bad at her job).
I honestly hope that by the end of the book George left them both to be eaten by ghosts and got a job in a new agency that actually valued and listened to him instead of constantly making him the target for their insults and ignoring life-saving information and advice just because they're too invested in their fucking abuse of him to actually care about what he has to say. But I have my doubts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Fatphobia, Blood, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury
DNFed @ 29%
Not for me. I couldn’t really get into the story or characters. I found the body shaming and fatphobic descriptions of George to be offensive and unnecessary. The main character literally says she wants to physically harm him just because of how he looks…
Not for me. I couldn’t really get into the story or characters. I found the body shaming and fatphobic descriptions of George to be offensive and unnecessary. The main character literally says she wants to physically harm him just because of how he looks…
It has some outdated language even for 2013; frequent uses of ‘oriental’ as well as at least one use of ‘invalid’.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Violence, Murder
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Re-read because I saw it sitting on my bookshelf and remembered how much fun I'd had as a teenager. It's good with zingy dialogue, misfits, danger, a bit of ghoul and gore, a solid reason for having teenagers work without adults and just a lot of fun. I read it in a single sitting and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I would give it 4 stars except I dislike the way George is treated - totally fine for him and Lucy to not be best pals, it creates an interesting dynamic to the trio - especially because as the book goes on you realise that they do like each other and it's the little things that wind each other up. Yet that doesn't excuse the unpleasant way George's appearance is written about. As a character, Lucy clearly has her prejudices (which is okay - no character is perfect and Lucy develops over the series), but Stroud reminds us unnecessarily that he is fat at every opportunity he can and the further stereotyping of him as pedantic, food-obsessed and slovenly is lazy, rude and off-putting.Mr Fairfax too suffered from unpleasant stereotyping and I'm disappointed in the equation of certain looks with certain moral standpoints .
Lucy is okay, she's a bit uptight and makes mistakes and has her prejudices (many of which she is self-aware about) - which are honestly refreshing to see in a protagonist, yet Stroud occasionally strays into 'she's not like other girls because she's not pretty and not as silly as them'.
Overall, it was a good plot with likeable characters that behave like real teenagers and I had fun.
I would give it 4 stars except I dislike the way George is treated - totally fine for him and Lucy to not be best pals, it creates an interesting dynamic to the trio - especially because as the book goes on you realise that they do like each other and it's the little things that wind each other up. Yet that doesn't excuse the unpleasant way George's appearance is written about. As a character, Lucy clearly has her prejudices (which is okay - no character is perfect and Lucy develops over the series), but Stroud reminds us unnecessarily that he is fat at every opportunity he can and the further stereotyping of him as pedantic, food-obsessed and slovenly is lazy, rude and off-putting.
Lucy is okay, she's a bit uptight and makes mistakes and has her prejudices (many of which she is self-aware about) - which are honestly refreshing to see in a protagonist, yet Stroud occasionally strays into 'she's not like other girls because she's not pretty and not as silly as them'.
Overall, it was a good plot with likeable characters that behave like real teenagers and I had fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship