by Jonathan Stroud
Ooh, this is a scary one. It's marketed for 9-12s, but I'm not sure I'd give it to my just turned 11-year old yet! But if your child likes to be spooked, then go ahead. The whole book is on a par with the first chapter of Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney (a great series), which I also found quite scary and warn the young ones about (we keep it in our teen section at work).Saying that, I really enjoyed this book. Lockwood & Co are a group of 3 children who are hired to dispose of ghosts, poltergeists, basically anything paranormal. It's set in modern day London where the 'Problem' (ie, hauntings) is rife. However, it is only children who have strong powers of sensing the paranormal, so they are trained to go out specifically to remove the Problem. The adults hover in safety at the front door.
After a job goes slightly wrong and the media backlash is brutal, Anthony, Lucy and George struggle to keep their business afloat. That is until they are approached by the famous Mr Fairfax, who employs them to get rid of many 'Visitors' from his ancient home. The only thing is, the previous children who've attempted the job have not come out alive. Will the 3 young ghost hunters survive the night's ordeal?
This is the first book in a series, and I look forward to reading the next one!
