Book Review: Lockwood and Co:The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

How do you feel about ghosts?  How about adventure and sarcastic banter?

The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, is set in a modern day London where ghosts stalk the night, and only children and teenagers can see them clearly. Our heroes Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle, and George Cubbins run a psychic detection agency. That is, they hunt and destroy ghosts. But unlike most other agencies, they don't have any adult supervisors. Since adults can't see or hear ghosts very well, Lockwood thinks they just get in the way.  Lucy tends to agree, given her unpleasant past.  George hates everyone equally.

We meet Lucy and Lockwood as they prepare to banish what they think is a routine ghost.  The ghost, and the case itself, prove too hot to handle, and Lucy and Lockwood barely escape.  Unfortunately, the Lockwood and Co. Psychic Detection Agnecy finds itself in some trouble with the law, and Lucy, Lockwood, and George are forced to take on a dangerous case in one of the most haunted houses in England.  The last team that tried to clear the historic mansion of ghosts died; every last one of them.

I enjoyed all the action and adventure, as well as the smart mouth comedy in the face of creepy, deadly ghosts.  Hope you will too!

Happy reading!

~ gothbrarian

Book Review: "Why We Took the Car" by Wolfgang Herrndorf

One thing I remember vividly my high school years is being one of THOSE kids. The kid that, no matter how small my class size (one year there were only about 25 of us) I didn’t get invited to anything. I can remember thinking why, if there were only 25 kids in my grade, I didn’t get invited to things. Freshman Mike Klingenberg is also one of those kids, which is one reason I love him so much. The other reason is his family is twisted that at one point he ended up with the nickname Psycho. I originally checked out “Why We Took the Car” by Wolfgang Herrndorf because European authors tend to be a little odd and who doesn’t love a good car-stealing joy ride? It’s a lot cooler and more interesting than just that, though, and has managed to become one of my fave books of this year. 

Summer break is supposed to awesome, filled with all sorts of wild and fun things. Unfortunately, Mike’s mom just went back to her spa (a.k.a. rehab), his dad took off for two weeks with his hot assistant (a.k.a. mistress), and Tatiana (a.k.a. Mike’s massive crush) didn’t invite him to her birthday party. Out of nowhere the weird new Russian student, Tschick, decides he and Mike should be friends and this is where the car-stealing joy ride comes in. They have $200, a barely functioning Lada, and no idea where they’re going; all they know is that they need to do something amazing and interesting and now’s the time to do it. The rest of the book is filled with odd balls, a random romance, two car crashes, a crazy man with a shotgun, and several run-ins with the police.

Book Review: The True Meaning of Smekday

Aliens have invaded Earth and renamed it Smekland.  Wait, no, let's start at the beginning.  Gratuity (Tip for short) Tucci is writing a report on the True Meaning of Smekday, which may or may not be included in a time capsule.  So this story starts with her and when her mother was abducted by aliens.  And then, later, the Boov invade Earth.  All the humans are supposed to be sent to Florida, but Tip decides to drive herself.  There are a variety of problems with this, the biggest two being that 1.) she's eleven years old and 2.) she's supposed to be on a Boov-approved rocketpod, not driving a car across busted highways.  Also, she has her cat (named Pig) and a runaway Boov named J.Lo in tow, which makes things complicated.  Then it turns out that another alien race is planning on invading Earth.  And then it gets weird(er). 

I love this book by Adam Rex.  It is hilarious, wonderful, quirky, and smart.  And it has great illustrations and some very funny cartoon strips drawn by J.Lo the Boov.  There are rumors of a movie in the works, so read this book now before the waiting list starts!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  If you like Adam Rex, read some more of his stuff here!  It's all a bit different, but funny!

Book Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Let me just say that I don't read teen romances...anymore.  Unlike fantasy or mystery or historical fiction, teen romances tend to appeal only to teens, or maybe I'm just a jaded, middle-aged librarian!  I mean when I was a teen, I read romances all the time and loved them--if you haven't read  Mrs. Mike, a classic first published in 1947, you are missing out on some serious, sob-inducing romantic tragedy.  But several friends, whose taste in books I trust implicitly, recommended Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and I was happy to find that a good teen romance knows no age limits!

If You Want to Be a Hero...

Then you need to check out The Hero's Guide To Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  Although this may be more of a "what not to do" guide. 

So it turns out that Prince Charming doesn't like to be called Charming.  None of them do.  They have names, you know.  Gustav, Duncan, Liam, and Frederick are the princes from the stories the troubadours tell - the stories named after the princesses.  They're not happy about being religated to a side note in the stories and they're not quite living happily ever after.  In fact, nothing seems to be going their way.  Which is a pity, since an evil witch has decided to cause a lot of trouble across all the kingdoms.  Even though they don't much like each other initially, the princes are going to have to band together and, well, save the kingdoms. 

This hilarious romp through fairy tales is a fun read.  The princes are flawed, but I couldn't help but like them anyway.  They do some growing up on their wacky adventures, but there's no high-handed moral lectures.  And the princesses are well-written characters in their own right - one is down-right bratty, but the rest are seeking adventure and trying to help those around them.  Also, the villians are fantastic, like the best kind of cartoon villians.  I love the Bandit King.  He's deliciously bad, but not in the ways you expect.  If you like this book, don't forget its sequel:  The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle.  Rumor has it that a third book is on its way as well!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Did I mention the fun pictures?  There's fun pictures!

Movember: It's all about the moustache (and mental health)

As we near the end of Movember (Moustache and November slid neatly together), I thought I might highlight a book I've read recently that this strange month of growing moustaches is about--men's mental health.  I can quickly come up with 15+ books about teenage girls and suicide, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or anxiety but I pretty much came up with zilch for teenage guys.  Which is weird considering that for many years in the U.S., the suicide rate has been about 4 times higher among men than among women.  Movember is all about men and their health--cancer, mental illness and healthy lifestyle are the main focuses but the general idea is to build awareness of mental health, to motivate guys to take care of themselves, and to destigmatize seeking medical help of any kind!  It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is just that--kind of a funny story about a teenage guy who is suffering from depression and fighting suicide.

The Perfect Halloween Book

A little scary, a little creepy, with a good dose of humor and lots of wackiness, Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez makes for good Halloween reading. 

Nessy is a kobold in charge of tending the castle of Margle the Horrendous and caring for all the beasts, ghosts, undead, and enemies that Margle has cursed into bizarre forms over the years.  Margle, in case you haven't guessed by now, is a wizard.  A greedy wizard with a inordinate love of revenge.  So when he dies, all of his odd (and occasionally gruesome) collections of both beasts and former enemies are thrilled.  Until they discover that the magics in the castle are unraveling in strange ways.

Nessy is the only one without a curse, so everyone's expecting her to save the day.  Nessy would much rather clean house (she prefers things tidy and orderly), but suddenly that's not so much of an option.  She and her friends (a bat, a disembodied voice, a purple people eater, and pieces of a wizard in a jar) are now frantically trying to outwit demons, an evil wizardess, and keep monsters on the loose from eating the other residents of the castle. 

If you find yourself waiting for Too Many Curses, check out one of A. Lee Martinez's other books.  Brew up some hot cider and curl up with some early Halloween candy and one of his books.  If you like wacky and a little creepy, you won't regret it. 

~ Book Ninja

Tucson Festival of Books Author Spotlight: Janette Rallison

Janette Rallison's books often make me laugh out loud, so I was excited to find out she will be attending the Tucson Festival of Books this March.  I was looking at the bios in her books to try and see what little tidbits I wanted to mention, when I discovered that they are each different.  For example, in It's a Mall World, her bio talks about things she learned as a mall connoisseur.  In Just One Wish she mentions how she wished for a pony that has never arrived.  The facts that stay the same are that she lives in Arizona with her husband and children.  Now that I know how amusing her bios are I will be looking forward to reading them as well, but if you are interested in checking out something a little more substantial, like her books, I recommend My Fair Godmother and it's sequel My Unfair Godmother.

Look Out: Big Magic!

I adore Jasper Fforde, and not just because he has a redundant F in his name, although that is pretty wonderful.  Happily enough, he's written yet another witty romp through social commentary and literary conventions, but this time for teens.  The Last Dragonslayer is, in a word, fantastic. 

Jennifer Strange is fifteen years old and runs Kazam Mystical Arts Management, an employment agency for magicians.  Tempermental magicians whose powers are fading as the whole world slowly loses magic.  But when the whispers of of Big Magic start and a prediction of the last dragon dying is delivered, she suddenly has more problems than just tempermental magicians and forms to fill out in triplicate.  How can she save herself, her new trainee foundling, the Kazam agency, and the dragon while dealing with scheming magicians, crafty kings, and hordes of people waiting for the dragon to drop dead so they can claim his land?  And most importantly, who is the last dragonslayer and where is he?

P.S. - Also, there's a Quarkbeast.  Quarkbeasts are awesome.

~ Book Ninja

All Things Necromancer

How could I resist a book with the title, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer?!  Really, how could anyone?  In fact, I loved this book so much that I thought I had already blogged about it but NO--I checked and despite some gaps in my blog technology skills, it appears that I didn't!  So now I can lure you into reading it AND the sequel, Necromancing the Stone, both by Lish McBride.  Do I believe there is such a thing as necromancy?  No.  But these are the funniest books about teens I have read in a long time, and McBride does a fantastic job of giving the fantasy lover something unique, interesting, and hilarious (meaning she doesn't take herself as seriously as most fantasy writers)! 

You Wish

Ever wished on your birthday candles? What if all your birthday wishes came true . . . all at once?

That's what's happening to Kayla after her sixteenth birthday, in Mandy Hubbard's hilarious You Wish. She's got a room full of gumballs, a pony of her own, even a life-size Ken doll. Unfortunately, those are all things that she wanted when she was way younger.

She doesn't know what to do with these crazy wish-products (although her sudden ability to speak Italian is pretty cool), but she's got an even bigger problem. Kayla's most recent birthday wish was to get a kiss from gorgeous, funny, cool Ben. This would be perfectly fine, except that Ben is now her best friend's boyfriend. And the one thing Kayla's never wished for is to lose her best friend forever.

For a funny and light-hearted look at how much everyone changes as they grow, try this book.

Anagrams, Footnotes, and the Mathematical Theorem of Love

Colin Singleton has had nineteen (by his reckoning) relationships.  Of those 19 relationships, they all had one thing in common.  They all involved a girl named Katherine.

Having just been dumped by Katherine the Ninteenth, Colin finds himself on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan.  Ending in Gutshot, TN, the two explore the gravesite of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, meet a girl named Lindsey, and Colin spends the summer trying to find a mathematical theorem of love and relationships.

What my description isn't capturing is both the realness of the characters and the humor of the storytelling.  An Abundance of Katherines by John Green is full of weird facts and trivia, odd anagrams, and an entire appendix devoted to the mathematical functions described in the book.  It is unspeakably nerdy, in the best kind of way.  But what can I say?  I have a soft spot for footnotes in novels. 

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

...That the month which contains so much love-themed commercialism leaves book lovers in want of Pride and Prejudice. One of my favorite light reads last year was Prom and Prejudice, which our Book Lady blogged about here. It's a modern-day update set in a prep school, with way more coffee.

Life in a Hoopskirt

When I saw this title, Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley, I had a feeling this book would make me laugh.  It certainly did.  Jane is more goth than Southern belle and yet somehow she finds herself picked to participate in the Magnolia Maid Pageant.  The successful pageant girls will represent Bienville for one year, by appearing at various events in the Southern belle outfit, aka the dress with the really big hoopskirt.  Jane has one goal, escape before she's seen in public wearing that dress!  Jane's sarcastic comments, and the crazy situations she gets into are hysterical.  If you want a good laugh, this book has plenty.

Project Costume Designer

Now that zombie season has officially ended I can actually start reading books that don't give me dreams involving being trapped in libraries & eating brains. Interestingly enough, I suddenly discovered I had started reading the girliest books possible: ones where fashion is practically it's own seperate character. I'm chalking this up to some sort of mild post-zombie apocalypse shock. The cool thing about these three books -- "Freak Show," "Lola and the Boy Next Door," and "Hollywood Nobody" -- is that the fashion isn't some magazine's idea of what'll be cool next year. Instead, it's all about declaring yourself awesome and wearing whatever makes you happiest, even if it's a mermaid outfit complete with Cheerio suction cups on your face.

Reading Across the Pond

Lately, I've been reading a lot of books that were originally published in other countries. These are always interesting because the slang, the traditions, the geography, and the history are all different. Here are a few I really enjoy.


Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamand
This book takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, when the oceans have risen, drowning most of the United Kingdom and hurtling humanity back into a more medieval society where only hints and scraps of high technology remain. It follows Lilly, on a quest to rescue the daughter of the prime minister from the Viking-like Raiders, and Zeph, the son and heir to the Raiders' leader. Exciting, fast-paced, and a little haunting when you recognize pieces of our world in the wreck of theirs.

The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series
This ten-book series for teen girls is screamingly funny, and will destroy any notions you ever had that the Brits lack a sense of humor. Georgia Nicolson is fifteen, and therefore impulsive, irreverent, often snarky, and terminally confused about who she is and what she wants.

Lost and Found by Shaun Tan
This collection of three Australian short stories are odd, eerie, and thought-provoking, and when paired with Tan's brain-bending collage-style illustrations, makes this a book you won't forget in a hurry.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder

I have a confession to make: I was a high school nerd. So when Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern was recommended to me by several other library staff, I picked it up and thought I'd check out a couple of chapters. I started reading at the dinner table just before bedtime and wound up staying up into the wee hours of the morning to finish the book. It was so engrossing, I never even moved despite losing circulation in my legs at one point.