Blog of a Bookaholic

I need it. Now.

Author: Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Middle-grade, Young-Adult, Horror
Publication: August 29th 2013, Doubleday Children's Books
Pages: 440 pages, Paperback
Source: Thank you so much to RandomStruik for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 5/5 Cupcakes!

Hauntings are our business . . .
Ghosts crowd the streets and houses of London. Anthony Lockwood, with his slightly grumpy deputy George, and his junior field operative Lucy, make up LOCKWOOD & CO, the small, shabby yet talented ghost-hunting agency.
After a series of calamitous investigations into the supernatural go awry, the team are desperate to prove themselves. Their opportunity comes in the form of a terrifying ghost, the Red Duke. But little do they know what perils lie in store for them at the haunted Bliss Hall . . .

When I received The Screaming Staircase to review, I instantly knew I was going to love it. It sounded like it had a unique premise as you don't generally get many books yhese days that focus on a ghost-hunting agency. And I did love it. More than I thought I would.

I don't do horror/ghost stories or movies, however, because this book was written so incredibly perfectly, I felt the perfect blend of fearfulness but not that feeling of complete terror. There were some hair-raising moments. Moments where I would move from the room I was currently occupying to a room where my parents were sitting, moments where when it started growing colder in the room my thoughts would immediately think "This is what happens when a ghost is near", moments where I regretfully had to put the book down to sleep, I would stay away a little longer listening to any abnormal sounds and having an accelerated heart-beat if I did hear anything (which would more often than not turn out to be a pigeon, seeking comfort on my roof). And whilst reading some of Lockwood, Lucy and George's adventures, I would get a shivering unease creeping through my body as to not knowing what would happen next to the characters I loved, however, I can honestly say I loved every single minute of it.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase is about a small, unknown ghost agency in London, made up of three youngsters, Lockwood, George and the newest employee, Lucy, who takes up the role as junior field operative. These three together make up Lockwood & Co, which is a small, but very talented agency, amidst hordes of larger, popular agencies. Many ghost hunters have been needed since the start of the Problem, 50 years ago, when ghosts started occurring more and more and unleashing their pent up fury of innocent humans. In London, people happily go along their business as long as the sun is up, but when the dark starts to invade they hurry home to get safely inside where they will be protected by the iron doors, the lavender and the ghost lamps.

When Lockwood and his agents embark on a case that goes quite awry and the house ends up in flames, their barely-there reputation dwindles even lower. However, when they are offered a high-profile case for a generous amount of money by one of the richest men to reside in London, owner of an iron supplier company, Lockwood & Co can't turn down the offer. However, before they accept the case, they need to do a long think...is risking their lives to save their business by spending a night in one of Britain's most haunted houses worth it?

The plot was amazing, there were so many unexpected surprises, so many blood-curdling moments, a mystery within a mystery. There was non-stop action. And non-stop one. Jonathan Stroud is anincredible writer, to so artfully create such an impeccable book. There was not one minute that I wasn't enjoying myself. He managed to create the perfect blend of horror, humour, seriousness and fun into this already fantastic book. The pacing was neither too fast, nor too slow, I was constantly gripped by the author's words and could scarcely lift my eyes from the page. When I had to put the book down to study or do chores, all that would occupy my mind was as to what was going to happen next. This book should come with a warning that states how much fun you are going to have reading it, and don't pick-it up unless you have a few days free time. 

The characters were utterly perfect in their own right too. Lucy, the narrator of the novel was perfect! She was feisty, brave and sarcastic too, and I admired her for being so brave as to go and kill some terrifying ghosts. I also loved however, that through her bravery, she also let us see that there were times she was seized by complete, over-whelming terror, I loved how she revealed her inner emotions to us, she had her flaws and showed us she had emotional depth. Definitely one of my new favourite heroines.

I also loved Lucy's Talent. The way that she could sense the fear, pain and utter terror when a certain ghost is in the vicinity. I loved how we, as readers, could feel like we were experiencing the emotions too and how at times we could sympathise with the ghosts our self. 

Then there is the owner and leader of Lockwood & Co, from the moment I was introduced to him, I instantly fell in love with his whole character and personality. He was friendly and sweet. Whenever someone was rude to him or disparaged him or his business he would be friendly and polite anyway. However, despite his spirited, vibrant, care-free attitude, there was an under-lying sadness that I sometimes witnessed, as he has been through a lot and despite his best efforts to be brave and dauntless, you can sometimes see the sadness he carries. I really admired Lockwood though, he was just a young boy running a company, which, at times, received criticism. He exuded maturity and did whatever he needed to be done in a professional manner. And when someone did belittle his company, or his young age, he rose to the unspoken challenge and proved numerously that Lockwood & Co is indeed the best there is.  

Then there was George who I found extremely likeable and I think he made the book even better (although it was already fabulous from the beginning). He was such a cute character and I felt that sometimes he was over-looked and placed in Lucy and Lockwood's shadow. He was the cautious one in the agency, the one that wanted to thoroughly look into a case and he was the one that generally ended up saving everyone by his precise planing, thirst for knowledge and witty humour.

Another thing I must praise before I end this review, is that I love the witty, sarcastic banter between the characters. I love it when authors are able to bring some light as to what would perhaps be a dark book, otherwise. Their personalities and the relationships between all the characters were extremely well developed. I trust that if you read this novel, you will fall in love with them all, as I did.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase is an utterly outstanding novel that everyone must have the pleasure of reading! As you read it, you will enjoy being immersed into the eerie, hair-raising atmosphere and shrieking at some moments from terror, and at other parts because of sheer delight! The characters are immensely real and once you close the book, you just want to start it from the the beginning all over again so that you can spend time drinking tea, plotting plans and, of course, eating doughnuts. This book is unputdownable, and will have you transfixed until you read the last page. The storyline was phenomenal too and I wasn't expecting that resolution at all! The second book can't come sooner. 

So true! :D

When I received ParaNorman I was extremely excited. I'd seen posters up, advertising the new animated movie about a boy who could talk to ghosts, and who had to save the little witchy town he lived in from a zombie invasion. As I didn't go see the movie, I thought I would read the book, and I'm so glad I did! ParaNorman was a fun-filled, middle-grade adventure about a misfit boy that proves his worthiness to the town and how different can be used to a greater extent.

As I haven't seen the movie of ParaNorman yet, I can't say how well and how accurately the novelization was written, but, I am, however, not looking at the accuracy of the movie to book but I'm looking at how the book was written, and I found it to be written quite well.

ParaNorman is supposed to be a fun, adventurous, slightly scary middle-grade novel, therefore I wasn't expecting a descriptive piece of work. However, (as I have read Kimmel's, Lily B series) there were a few descriptive sentences placed throughout the book. The writing was fairly good, but ParaNorman wasn't supposed to be a book known for the amount of description it has, it was supposed to be known for its zombie, witch slaying scenes, which is what it'll be known for. Kimmel blended the most accurate amount of description and enough action to create a perfect middle-grade novel.
I admired Norman. He was the town misfit, the boy you were warned to stay away from. He had this gift, but when he used it, it drove people away, alienating him in the process. I loved watching him be naturally who he is, changing the town's warped, angry opinion of him, into an accepting, admirable viewing of him. I enjoyed reading about Norman as he gathered the ingredients he needed to save Blithe Hollow from a zombie attack, and I was delighted with the after effect of him saving the town. People could finally accept him for who he is, and realise that Norman is a hero that just saved their needy butts. Norman was a strong character that didn't need people to tell him how great he was and he didn't need people to accept him, he just was him. Self-acceptance is a lesson we can all learn.

The minor characters were each their own type of person, but I do wish their characteristics were more developed, however, I could easily distinguish one character from another. There was Neil, the other loner who was continuously picked on by Alvin, the school bully, that, surprisingly, has a softer side. Neil and Norman eventually became friends, the former boy stayed by Norman's side and was always ready to help, even when Norman pushed him away insisting he didn't need it.

Courtney, Norman's elder sister was...a stereotypical American teenage "popular" girl. She was constantly droning on about her appearance, her clothes, make-up, her freaky little brother, hot guys and (which drove me nuts) her continuous use of the work "like", it gets like, soooo annoying ◂--- That is how she spoke, using "like" and "sooo" and it got quite tiresome. But the author did a good job of portraying a self-centred, vain teenager. I also hated the way she treated Norman, and when she was finally nice to him towards the end, I was so relived, as Norman didn't deserve to be treated like that.

ParaNorman was a great, fun-filled middle-grade novel. I will definitely get the DVD when it comes available, as I can't wait to see the characters I read about in the book, brought to life. With kick-butt, zombie fighting scenes, a brave young boy and life lessons including self-acceptance, courage and using good to fight evil, ParaNorman will have to filled with delight, except when the zombies come, they might just put you a bit on edge. I think it was good for a novelization, however, I would have liked to see a bit more description and character development, overall it was a fun, quick, middle-grade novel.

I give it: 3 CUPCAKES!

Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Publication: 2011, Penguin Books

Pages: 380 pages, Paperback

Source: Library book/own 

 

We are the last defence.I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.
Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.
I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.
And I'm ready to fight.

After reading I Am Number Four, and after reading that heart-breaking ending, I was lucky that I could delve right into Power of Six.

I enjoyed I Am number Four so much and I was super excited to start reading the second one. I really enjoyed The Power of Six, however, it did feel like something was missing, therefore I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous one, but it was still an enjoyable, action-packed science fiction young adult novel. The Power of Six was a great follow up to I Am Number Four, just a warning for those who haven't yet read IANF, you do need to preferably read the first book in order to understand what happens in The Power of Six. There were lots of revelations in I Am Number Four, but we weren't always told the full story, therefore it left a lot of loose, unfinished endings, and a lot of the unanswered questions raised in I Am Number Four, were now revealed in The Power of Six. Its a series you definitely need to read in chronological order. You'll also feel more sympathy towards the characters, knowing the background story on Four, and the tragedy that happened towards his Cepan in  the end of the first book.

The title has had me and quite a few readers confused. At first, upon finishing I Am Number Four, I thought perhaps the second book would be from Six's point of view, however it wasn't, and I did find myself a bit disappointed. Six is my most favourite character in the Lorien Legacies, and I would have loved it if it were her narration in The Power of Six. When I had read the first few chapters, I came to the conclusion that The Power of Six, didn't really have any relation to Six, but it merely meant, the power of the six Garde left when they are united. But its okay, I was enjoying reading about the new characters introduced and reminiscing with the characters introduced in the previous book. I do think that the author should perhaps have given more of an indication to the meaning of the title though.

The writing didn't seem as good to me as I Am Number Four. There was no descriptiveness, it was mostly a few similes and metaphors scattered here and there. And the writing didn't really have any depth woven into it. I've learnt when writing   a story to show not tell, and a great deal of The Power of Six, was just the author telling what was happening, instead of using excellent vocabulary and similies/metaphors to make the story beautiful. The writing was very basic and I would've preferred it if the author had used better synonyms for the primary words that were printed in The Power of Six. I really do hope that he will show his true talent that he exposed in I Am Number Four, in The Rise of Nine.

I enjoyed being introduced to the new characters and learning more of the previous characters' pasts. In I Am Number Four, we heard Four's voice, we heard his past story, we heard his current story. Towards the end, we were introduced to a new number, number 6. I instantly warmed to Six, I could tell she was a head-strong, kick-butt girl that had an unfortunate past. A girl that had learnt from previous mistakes. I was also insanely impressed at the amount of fighting and survival techniques that she had taught herself after her Cepan died, Six age just thirteen. I was also clapping in glee when Six kicked Four and Sam's butt during their training sessions, I would absolutely love to be able to do all her fighting moves.

So Six was a newish character, introduced in book one, and developed in book two. One of my favourite new characters is number Seven, also going by the name, Marina. I loved listening to her voice resonate throughout the story. Her voice is sweet and gentle. She loves painting and quite a few of her legacies have to do with nurturing others and to do with nature. She was different to the others in my eyes. She seemed sensitive, more like an artist than an alien sent to Earth to kick evil alien butt.  Her life as a Garde was also unfair. Her Cepan wouldn't accept or acknowledge the fact that they had been sent to earth, from an alien planet, Lorien, in order to keep the world from being destructed by filthy, war-driven Mogadorians. When her Cepan finally showed some emotion towards Marina, and jumped into action to start preparing I was so relieved. It must have been awful for Marina, being bullied by the convent girls, and not having her Cepan to talk to when her legacies started showing. My favourite characters so far are Six and Seven. Six for her toughness and for her emotional story that has changed the way I see her. As you read about her, bit by bit of her hard edge will be chipped away, revealing the true person she is beneath. Seven for her caring gentleness and her eager ,urgent enthusiasm to learn how to control her legacies and defend Lorien and Earth.

The plot was interesting. I was constantly in suspense, on the edge of my seat, waiting for the Mogadorians to strike. Waiting for them to kill number Four, "John", to continue the rest of the assassination of the other Garde remaining. Whenever the Garde escaped another near-death run-in, I would breathe a sigh of relief and continue reading, but my relief would be short-lived as the Mogadorians, or the human police (convinced that John, Sam and Six are terrorists) continued chasing them, trying to track them down and kill them.

SPOILER AHEAD

I don't like Sarah anymore. How could she do that?! You don't betray your  boyfriend to the FBI! He isn't even just an ordinary boyfriend, but a special alien, who is one of six left to SAVE MANKIND. It was a pretty good twist though, and I'm a sucker for good twists. And I'm also cross with John, as you don't make out with your gorgeous, powerful alien friend, while you are dating someone else. He is a cheater and I can not stand cheaters.  AND John betrayed Sam, as Sam has got a MEGA crush on Six. The other thing is that I knew that John and Sarah's relationship wasn't going to last that long, his an alien that people are claiming to be a terrorist and she's miss popular, that has now become an outcast since John "blew up" a school. Maybe she traded him in for revenge? Who knows...
I really do think that the romance could have been a bit more structured and well developed.

SPOILER OVER

I also found the ending, where Sam was locked in the Mogadorian cave, unnecessary. The author should have done a more well-rounded up ending. As Sam being in the cave wasn't the best cliffhanger, if that's what it were intended to be. It also didn't have me in tears, as I didn't feel that emotionally connected to Sam in the second installment of I Am Number Four. The only emotion that this event left me with was annoyance. John was such a jerk to not immediately go in there and save his friend. If my best friend was locked in a cave filled with aliens out for her and my blood, I would risk my life for her. But not John. He needs to grow up a bit more me think.

Its also getting a bit much with the Cepans being killed off at the ending of every book, it seems quite pointless to me. If you're going to kill a character, at least have us be introduced to the character and get to know them, so that when they die we will be able to show some emotion, like in I Am Number Four. When one of the Cepans died in there, there were tears rolling down my eyes. The author needs to try and recreate those scenes in his next books when the characters die.

The Power of Six was a good sequel to the outstanding first book in a new Young Adult science fiction, The Lorien Legacies. However, it was a slight let-down after reading I Am Number Four. The first installment in the series I found I had my heart wrenched out and my heart racing, the Power of Six didn't produce such strong feelings in me. The action was great and it was the best part of the book. I was constantly in awe watching their fight for survival unfold before me. I'm hoping in the next book to see better writing skills, a more developed romance and better plot twists. I did enjoy this book, but I think it could've been a lot better.

I give it: 4/5 CUPCAKES!

I have previously read one of James Patterson's novels, the first book in the highly acclaimed Maximum Ride series. And I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, as the book didn't grip me from the beginning, but in the end it turned out to be four stars, quite a high rating. When Random House offered me  a chance to review Confessions of a Murder Suspect for them I jumped at the chance, even though I am squeamish, and seeing as Confessions of a Murder Suspect has murder in it, I didn't know if things would pan out well. Surprisingly they did.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect showed us how abnormal Tandy (and her siblings') lives were. It stretched from her parents being emotionless, robotic like humans, disciplining their children with unnecessary punishments, feeding them "vitamins" daily, growing them into super-geniuses, children with an I.Q. like Einstein and talents similar to the likes of Picasso and Mozart. Malcolm and Maud Angel let their kids live a life that was protected and sheltered, so that the children weren't allowed to taste even the slightest amount of freedom on their thirsty tongues. They were kept away from parties, from friends, from boys, from girls, from normality. The Angel children are without a doubt damaged, the product of their parents' high, and impossible demands. 

The Angel family live in the Dakota, a building in New York where only the most secretive and most elite people reside. Only people who live in one of the apartments can have access into their own room, so when the Angel parents were found murdered, a ripple of shocked passed through everyone. Could one of the most prestigious couples really have been murdered in the safety of their own home, in the Dakota? Seeing as there was no forced entry, nothing stolen and nothing broken, the cops handling the case started suspecting the the four kids Malcolm and Maud Angel had left behind, as the culprits in a double homicide. Confessions of a Murder Suspect is about Tandy solving the mystery, working to turn the killer in, even if it turns out to be one of her brothers. Or herself.

The Angel children are damaged. They are different, but not for the right reasons. They were moulded into the people they are today. Malcolm and Maud controlled their lives, controlled the process of moulding their kids into robotic, emotionless, genius children. The Angel parents didn't view their children as children, more like experiments. Testing numerous "vitamins" on them, leaving them with the inability to feel, to cry, to hate, to love. 

The four main characters are sixteen year old Tandy and her twin brother Harry,  ten year old Hugo and big brother Matthew.

Tandy is sixteen years old. She was the last one to see her parents alive and that was when she received a Big Chop. The name for punishment in the Angel household. Tandy is calm and collected, bred that way to focus on facts, compress her feelings and have complete control. Tandy is our narrator, she speaks directly to us, the reader. Never revealing too much information at a time. I love it how James Patterson wrote it on a personal level, as if Tandy is addressing me, trusting me and telling me her tragic, mysterious and suspicious story. I liked Tandy. She was a distinctive character that stood out amongst others. I loved how she was set out to find the killer of her parents, even if it turned out to be one of her beloved brothers or herself. Something that bugged me slightly about Tandy is when she lost control. When she wasn't that emotionless person. It did indeed make her more human when she cried and shouted, but it didn't seem to suit her. Its quite difficult to explain, but there wasn't a smooth transition from her being robotic like, and then turning into a hysteric teenager, therefore I didn't fully adjust to her being this new person. 

I also was horrified at some of the things that had happened to her in her sixteen years. When she confessed some secrets, I could understand how she was broken inside. I could understand the painful events that had once turned her world upside down. When I read some of the stuff she experienced, I felt bad for her. She deserved a normal life.

Matthew is the oldest brother. He detested his parents, and moved out of the Angel apartment as soon as he could. Matty is the NFL star. He is famous. He has a reputation to withhold. But since he really detested his parents, he was a prime suspect. Although I didn't completely warm up to Matthew, I didn't dislike him either. He was a great big brother to his siblings, especially to Hugo, Hugo who is his biggest fan. Matthew was, in my eyes, the prime suspect as he use to continuously repeat how he detested his parents...

Harry was my favourite next to Tandy! He was the sensitive one, the one with emotions, the one that Malcolm viewed as damaged. None of the Angel's are allowed to express emotion, they were bred that way. I loved how Harry showed how he felt, I loved how he expressed his sadness to the world, not keeping it in like he had been taught to. When they also described the Angel parents had disrespected him. Saying he shouldn't be playing the piano, how his art wasn't good enough. When I heard that I felt so blisteringly angry. Harry was respected by whoever heard him play, and he's own parents wouldn't accept him for who he was.

I also adored Hugo, the youngest Angel. He was ten years old, built like a tank, and as strong as  an ox. Even thought he was this strong little big boy, you could still see he was just a child in the way he acted, and didn't deserve to be going through such turmoil at such a young age. 

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and finding out more of the secrets hidden within in the apartment's boundaries.  

I love mystery novels, in fact, when I first started reading, the mystery genre was my favourite. Every Saturday I use to go to the library and get out any books that were mystery books or had detective work in it. The mystery books I use to take out were the Secret Seven books and Famous Five books written by Enid Blyton. I still have most of her books, she was a great writer and her books were a large part of my childhood. Now being older, I don't enjoy mystery books as much, as the majority of them contain gruesome scenes about the murders and I don't enjoy books that are filled with doom and gloom. So before I started reading it (I felt quite wary, I wasn't sure it there would be a lot of blood in it and grotesque imagery) I asked my dear, lovely, bookish father, if he could read it before me, just to make sure I wouldn't have a major freak out if I came upon a disturbing scene. As he was reading I kept asking them if there was any major grossness and he said NO! :D When he eventually finished the book, he said, that overall, it was a very clean, not-too-gruesome book. And when I finally read it and completed the book, I was so glad that he was right! Confessions of a Murder Suspect is a mystery novel that keeps you hooked and has you consistently keeping an eagle-eye out for all the characters in case they are the guilty culprit. There was one scene that was a bit descriptive and that was when they were portraying how the Angel parents looked when they were found deceased, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect is great for any murder mystery lover, however, if you are a person that enjoys an intricate plot, detailed imagery of the victims of a homicide in their murdered state  and a shocking ending that you would never have expected, Confessions of a Murder Suspect might disappoint you if you have high expectations from reading other outstanding murder mystery novels. However, if you are like me, and you want to enjoy a murder novel that isn't to heavy, Confessions of a Murder Suspect is a great contender. I did slightly expect the ending, which left me a tad disappointed but I did find it a, happy, round off. 

A lot of people that have read Confessions of a Murder Suspect say that they were disappointed by the ending, and I can understand that. James Patterson built up, from the beginning, that Malcolm and Maud were these cruel, unloving people, that treated their kids not like children, but like an experiment. The ending (which I had predicted in the beginning) didn't seem to add up to the descriptions he had placed of the parents throughout the whole book. I was expecting a shocking, tragic ending but unfortunately that was not to be the case. Me and my dad discussed the ending, and he agreed. Then I discussed the ending with one of my best friends that had bought the book, and she thought it was a nice ending. It was a sweet ending, but perhaps too sweet for this particular book. It didn't tie in with what we had been told.

There also seemed to be a few plot holes. We find out that Tandy was fell in love with a boy when she attended a teenage party that she was not allowed to be at, leading to her being out of control, running away, going to rehab etc, but we weren't given a full insight into it which was utterly frustrating at times. I also thought he would have a bigger part in the story but alas it was not to be. 

I love the way the book is set out though. There are short chapters that can have you saying just one more chapter, which then inevitably leads to you finishing half the book before you know it. I also enjoyed reading Tandy's "Confessions", the Confessions chapters led to the readers finding out more about the dark, sinister happenings that were going undetected to the public in the Angel house hold. Some of the things that Tandy confessed were shocking and it thrilled me whenever I learnt something new about this mysterious, rich, secretive, disturbed family. 

James Patterson is also a very good writer, his writing draws you in and doesn't let you go until you've read the last word. When I started reading Confessions of a Murder Suspect, I couldn't stop. I took it with me everywhere and read it whenever I had a chance too. 

Although the ending didn't quite thrill me, there were a mass of happenings that I wasn't expecting, and on numerous occasions I was jumping up and down, shaking everyone saying that I could not believe that what had just happened! Patterson definitely threw in amazing revelations that astounded me. So thumbs up for that!

Confessions of a Murder Suspect was yet another fantastic novel by the brilliant James Patterson. Confessions of a Murder Suspect had me shocked and speechless, it had me wondering suspiciously who the killer was. The oldest child, a NFL star that said openly announced he despised his parents? Tandy, the brainiac, the only girl, the one that never displays her emotions? Harry, the sweet, seemingly-innocent, sensitive one? Or, last of all, Hugo. The youngest Angel that is stronger than a man double his size. You will wrack your brains and add up all the clues, trying to find out who the killer was. Confessions of a Murder Suspect will have you unable to put it down. A must read that any murder mystery lover will enjoy!

I give it: 4/5 CUPCAKES!