A review by bookishtory2665
The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud
4.0
It's two in the morning, there's a mouse in the kitchen, and I stayed up finishing this series. And while I'm more than a little freaked about the mouse, the Empty Grave, book #5 and the last in the Lockwood & Co. series, did not disappoint. I literally couldn't put it down -- and given that there was a mouse lurking about, that's a testimonial to how much I was pulled into the story.
I cared about the characters, had a chance to get to know them, and see them grow over time. Experiences bring about change and if you're lucky, growth. So, I look for that in a story and when its lacking, that's an epic fail. And in these books, I wasn't disappointed.
I take that back. I have to confess I was a little disappointed.
And that's because of the beginning. I'm not a fan of foreshadowing. I don't want to be let off the hook. Ever. First couple of pages aside, the world-building was inventive and detailed; I especially liked how the over-arching story, about the origin of the problem (the extraordinary number of ghosts and such haunting London) was revealed, layer by layer, in way that made sense. Keep in mind, this series was written for younger readers but even so, I felt it all came to a satisfying conclusion.
Well worth reading.
I cared about the characters, had a chance to get to know them, and see them grow over time. Experiences bring about change and if you're lucky, growth. So, I look for that in a story and when its lacking, that's an epic fail. And in these books, I wasn't disappointed.
I take that back. I have to confess I was a little disappointed.
And that's because of the beginning. I'm not a fan of foreshadowing. I don't want to be let off the hook. Ever. First couple of pages aside, the world-building was inventive and detailed; I especially liked how the over-arching story, about the origin of the problem (the extraordinary number of ghosts and such haunting London) was revealed, layer by layer, in way that made sense. Keep in mind, this series was written for younger readers but even so, I felt it all came to a satisfying conclusion.
Well worth reading.