The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)

by Jonathan Stroud (Author)

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Lockwood & Co.
The author of the internationally bestselling Bartimaeus books launches a thrilling and chilling new series about three teen members of a Psychic Detection Agency who are battling an epidemic of ghosts in London.
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Publishers Weekly

In what has come to be called "the Problem," the British Isles have become plagued with ghostly Visitors in this highly entertaining first book in Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series. Since children and young teenagers are most able to sense the ghosts, psychically gifted youths are employed by agencies large and small, and use iron chains, magnesium flares, and salt bombs to contain and dispatch the Visitors. Narrator Lucy Carlyle has moved to London following a ghost-hunting mission gone very wrong, and her luck improves when she joins a small, independent outfit run by the dashing Anthony Lockwood and his studious and exasperating (to Lucy) partner, George Cubbins. Stroud (the Bartimaeus series) shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood & Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments). Stroud plays with ghost story conventions along the way, while laying intriguing groundwork that suggests that the Problem isn't the only problem these young agents will face in books to come--the living can be dangerous, too. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9--Lucy Carlyle relates the exploits of the teenage ghost-hunting agency, Lockwood & Co. The world is still reeling from an infestation of malevolent, deadly ghosts that can only be detected by Talented youngsters with rare psychic sensitivities. Anthony Lockwood heads his three-person team, including Lucy and George Cubbins, in their efforts to defeat the evil spirits-and remain solvent. A minor haunting that turns into a major problem leads Lockwood & Co. to a brooding mansion that has already claimed the lives of more experienced ghost hunters. Combe Carey Hall is "the most haunted private house in England... an ugly oppressive mongrel of a building," and the trio quickly realizes that the dangers they face have human as well as supernatural sources. Authentically spooky events occur in an engagingly crafted, believable world, populated by distinct, colorful personalities. The genuinely likable members of Lockwood & Co. persevere through the evil machinations of the living and the dead and manage to come out with their skins, and their senses of humor, intact. This smart, fast-paced ghostly adventure promises future chills.--Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

In what has come to be called "the Problem," the British Isles have become plagued with ghostly Visitors in this highly entertaining first book in Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series. Since children and young teenagers are most able to sense the ghosts, psychically gifted youths are employed by agencies large and small, and use iron chains, magnesium flares, and salt bombs to contain and dispatch the Visitors. Narrator Lucy Carlyle has moved to London following a ghost-hunting mission gone very wrong, and her luck improves when she joins a small, independent outfit run by the dashing Anthony Lockwood and his studious and exasperating (to Lucy) partner, George Cubbins. Stroud (the Bartimaeus series) shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood & Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments). Stroud plays with ghost story conventions along the way, while laying intriguing groundwork that suggests that the Problem isn't the only problem these young agents will face in books tocome-the living can be dangerous, too. Ages 8 12. PW"
Jonathan Stroud
Jonathan Stroud (www.jonathanstroud.com) is the author of four previous books in the Lockwood & Co. series as well as the New York Times bestselling Bartimaeus books, and the stand-alone titles Heroes of the Valley, The Leap, The Last Siege, and Buried Fire. He lives in England with his wife and three children.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781423164913
Lexile Measure
720
Guided Reading Level
Z
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
September 17, 2013
Series
Lockwood & Co.
BISAC categories
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV058000 - Juvenile Fiction | Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural
JUV018000 - Juvenile Fiction | Horror
Library of Congress categories
Ghosts
Ghost stories
Psychic ability
London (England)
England
Supernatural
Paranormal fiction
Haunted houses
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Texas Lone Star Reading List
Commended 2014 - 2014
L.A. Times Book Prize
Finalist 2013 - 2013
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Recommended 2014 - 2014
Beehive Awards
Nominee 2016 - 2016
Nevada Young Readers' Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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