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Kaethe

Kaethe

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The Whispering Skull - Jonathan Stroud

The Whispering Skull - Jonathan Stroud

This has a freaking awesome set up: something horrible has happened, and fifty years on the world is swimming with ghosts who are dangerous and can even kill the living, and the only people who can see/hear/sense them are children. (Not all children can, but no adults can, those who have the ability gradually lose it as they age). So there's a little independent ghost hunting company called Lockwood & Co operating out of Tony Lockwood's family home in London, and the three teenagers can do pretty much whatever they want and don't have to go to school and they don't have any adults watching over them. And, this is a great addition, this is: they use special swords with silver tips to fight ghosts.

I almost really love it a lot. But the author kills much of my buzz with his own casual stereotypes. Every time I'd cruising along getting really into it he does something that kicks me out. Such as, I can accept that this particular trio of heroes are white, but so is everyone else. All right, I finally manage to suspend my disbelief again and I'm getting back into the concept and what does he do? Fat bashing. Wow, way to reach for the low-hanging fruit of characterization there: Lockwood, the hero is tall and handsome and charming. George, the foil, is shorter, and fatter, and so untidy and off-putting. And we have to be reminded of this good-looking = good unattractive = bad formulation repeatedly, both in our trio of ghost fighters and in bad guys, etc. I suppose I should be grateful he doesn't fall back on the lazy stereotyping of racists of old and just make all the bad guys "swarthy." So when I manage to get over just how cheap and cruel that is, and get back into the story, then the writer has to tell us that Lucy, the narrator of these tales isn't like all the other girls, no, she isn't interested in hair and makeup and fancy clothes, and that's why she doesn't get along with any females at all ever.

I'll probably pick up the next book in the series. And I'll probably end up throwing it across the room and screaming in disgust when George eats the same food as Lockwood and Lucy but gets mocked for it, or when Lucy reveals that all girls except her love pink. Then I'll be done with Stroud. When I can't possibly recommend his books to my daughters.

Library copy