A review by _haggis_
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

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

3.75

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. 
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