Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave: Book 5 (Lockwood & Co.)

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We’ve worked wonders to get here, and we won’t panic now. If we’re right, there won’t be anything to worry about. If we’re wrong, we deal with it, as we always do. […] But we won’t be wrong. We’re on the verge of something big here. It’s going to be good!” Jonathan Stroud is a British author born in 1970 in Bedford, England. He has been writing novels for young adults and children since the early 1990s. His passion for writing began in childhood when he would spend hours lost in books, especially those that contained magic, mystery and adventure. He went on to study English and Philosophy at the University of York before eventually finding his calling as a writer. Speaking of ghosts, the scary factor is still there. I feel chilly when dusk settles. Eerie and foreboding. Even those illustrations in every chapter beginning creep me out, I tried not to look at them.

lucy is badass and she knows it, but is also filled with worry and fear and is all around relatable af. she's the best narrator. when she grows up she would totally be molly weasley. i just love her and i feel like we're friends. we're totally friends. Stroud brings his intricate, series long storyline to a close with a complex, dramatic climax followed by a simple, satisfying conclusion. A first-rate adventure, full of memorable, original characters Booklist I actually loved how Holly came to have such spunk as time went on but also the joke of her healthy eating all the time was pretty hilarious, I say that because I would do the joking, because I don't eat healthy, at all. Not sorry. But the moments Lucy had with Holly in this one were really nice, and then there were some other very interesting little things hinted to about Holly... ooh...

For one thing, I think the Marissa/Penelope twist was introduced way too late in the series, so we never really got to settle in with her as an antagonist. I wish Stroud had established her as the Big Bad right from the beginning (while still saving the big bombshell about her identity for a later book) so we could enjoy the characters grappling with her throughout the series instead of wasting time on lesser villains (Stroud half-heartedly tries to keep the Winkmans relevant as villains in at least three books, and I would forget who they were every single time) Ultimately, the Marissa storyline felt very rushed, with everything getting crammed into the last book before we could adjust to the new information. Sobbing silently while my hopes and dreams and aspirations leached out of me and into these little children

The banter you guys, it’s perfect, it’s beautiful, it revived me during my deepest and darkest time aka when George got beaten up but those as*holes :(

Did we miss something on diversity?

Having said that, I wouldn't mind at all if Stroud was about to roll this series over into a spinoff. At all. The world is so well-built, the situation with the ghosts and how the Problem has twisted the world. And then the concept of the agencies and the kid agents who have the job of fighting these ghosts it's just freaking cool and amazing!

It has to do with how the Problem came about and the secrets behind the most famous paranormal agency in the city. Stroud has crafted one hell of a brilliant setting, complex, believable, and utterly fascinating with its Problem: a world infected by supernatural beings that reduces humans to seek refuge at night in fear for their lives. Since adults cannot ‘see’ these ghostly apparitions, children and teenagers are roped in to become operatives, fighting these nefarious manifestations, often to their deaths. This entire series made me FEEL so many things. I had no idea when I started these books that I'd be this attached by the end. How am I going to be able to move on after this? *spoiler*: I probably won't. 😭I loved where Jonathan Stroud took this series and the conclusion of the epidemic hauntings. Well done! All of our characters are present (of course) and many of them have moments of revelation during this last book. If you've enjoyed the series to date then I guarantee you will love this final piece of the puzzle. Genuinely spooky and suspenseful, with appealing characters and great dialogue, and all shot through with Stroud’s dry wit Guardian Even though I had become accustomed to the format of the previous books, I was pleased that this installment offered a slight deviation from the "norm". There was instead a greater focus on the Problem itself with all of the various plots finally converging toward an ultimate resolution.

Read the whole series in this five-book collection before diving into the thrilling Netflix adaptation starring Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman and Ali Hadji-Heshmati. So gather your friends, grab some popcorn, and get ready to embark on a thrilling adventure into the world of ghost hunting.

LoveReading4Kids Says

hand rested on his rapier hilt. He looked pensive, as if he was gazing into the future & finding something sad. It made my heart hurt to see him.