Skulduggery Pleasant

Landy, Derek. Skulduggery pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

Stephanie’s world is turned upside down after her Uncle Gordon dies.  She tries to deal with the inheritance that was left to her as well as new friends that come along with the inheritance. Skulduggery Pleasant is one of her uncle’s closest friend as well as a walking and talking skeleton.  Stephanie finds herself in a world full of creatures and magic.  Stephanie and Skullduggery must work together to help solve her uncles murder case, in the process she also discovers things about herself and her family.
 
Evaluative Criteria: Character and Plot

Character: Our main character Stephanie is one the readers can relate to because everyone has experienced being ordinary then all of a sudden experiencing something you never knew was even possible. In the book the book Stephanie embraces the new world she was plunged into, instead of running from it. She shows courage and many readers can see themselves doing also as they go through their daily trials, as well as the experiences Stephanie is going through in the book too. Skulduggery is also a character that readers fall in love with due to his humor and spirit, regardless of the tragedies he’s gone through, he gives the reader a sense of hope and teaches the reader to never give up.  He also makes the reader feel like everything will be okay.

Plot: This story starts in a realistic world with everyday characters.  After Gordon dies, Stephanie is exposed to a magical world, which she discovers that she has more of a connection to than she realizes.  The plot starts off strong as Stephanie is attacked almost at the beginning of the book and continues to have extraordinary experiences.  She partners with an unlikely character, a talking skeleton named Skuldugerry Pleasant, together they must save the world from an evil mage.  The story contains humor, adventure, and twists and turns that keep the reader fully engaged!