The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To read my full Disclosure Policy, please click here.
I am going to say that despite the bad rep a lot of book-to-screen adaptations get, this one was so good that I am ready to dedicate my time (and brain cells) to reading the entire 5-book series—that good.
Now you might be thinking “Isn’t this what happened with Shadow & Bone?“. Well…yes and no because when it comes to the Grishaverse, I only read the Six of Crows duology and refuse to read the original trilogy and I am frankly not very interested in the King of Scars duology (although I did scream about Nikolai when the trailer dropped. I’m contradicting myself at every turn, to be honest)
In this case, I went into the tv show not knowing anything, besides the ghost hunting, and by the insistence of my friend from Instagram (Hi! You know who you are hehe). I thought the acting was really good (apparently it’s Lockwood’s first role? He nailed it ngl) and the only thing I wanted is a) for it to be longer so b) we could get more domestic moments between Lockwood, Lucy and George. Anyways, on to the actual book review because that’s what you all are here for (clearly, not just me fangirling about the Lockwood actor, no, not at all)
The book starts off similarly to the show - Lockwood and Lucy going to the house to find the ghost that may have caused the death of Mrs.Hope’s husband. However, in the book (I’m not going to list all the differences because we’d be here for weeks), they’re met with Mrs. Hope’s daughter who states that her mother refuses to enter the house ever since Mr. Hope passed away. They still burn the house down but also the ring (show) is a locket (book).
One thing I find really funny for no reason at all is that George, in the books, is actually George Cubbins whereas in the show he’s George Karim and I just find the last name Cubbins so funny and I really don’t know why. I also can’t imagine anyone else for George because the actor plays him so perfectly and it’s frankly so endearing. I am really hoping Netflix renews this show because if they don’t, how am I supposed to live with myself?
Another really fun aspect of the book is that it really feels like it’s written by like a 13-year-old girl because the dialogue and the internal thoughts that Stroud writes about are just similar to how I thought at 13 years old. Definitely would have been super scared of ghosts but the train of thoughts are just so funny and the dialogue is as brilliant as teenagers can get. My favourite:
“Was it sarcasm, or irony?”
“Irony is cleverer so you mean sarcasm.”
It’s not even that big of a deal but it’s the delivery and the situation as well as who is saying what that matters and that makes this book so much more fantastic and endearing. I have a soft spot for found family trios especially since I am an avid fan of Percy Jackson and this series is such a fantastic take on the whole trio of friends and I am so excited to finish this series (will I cry or be scared, stay tuned to find out)
I definitely think that one thing that’s very much a clear change is that Lockwood seems cockier in the show. I don’t mean that in a bad way but he definitely seems way more confident in himself and he really plays on the fact that people obviously think he’s cute (Looking at you Lucy Carlyle) whereas that doesn’t appear as much in the books. Yet, at least. There’s a really funny moment in episode 3, I think, when they’re at the cemetery and Lockwood looks at one of the sensitives and says “Miss, when you and your crew feel ready, you will have my full undivided attention “ and the girl just looks at him, blinks and says “okay” and it’s just so funny to me and the Lockwood smiles at her and walks away.
Stroud does a really good job of showing that the narrator is really a teenage girl to the point where I frankly forgot that he’s a man writing YA. Definitely similar to how Rick Riordan really captures Percy’s voice in PJO (there is a distinct voice in HoO but it’s not in first person so the situation is a bit different.)
Another thing that I found a bit funny is the moments when Lucy and George butt heads but by the end of the book, there’s clearly no one she’d rather be working with than George “Ultimate nerd” Cubbins.
If you’re someone like me who grew up on Percy Jackson and want a series with the same trio, found family vibes along with fantastic dialogue and ghosts or if you’re someone who watched the show and want more, I highly recommend reading this one! Obviously a lot of it is in the show but it’s interesting to see what changes are made to the plot points (not so much plot points as pacing because they only had 8 episodes to work with) as well as what pieces of dialogue is given to who.
You can buy the book here!
Rating: 5/5 stars
Love,
Mila
