Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

The central figures in this novel are Skulduggery Pleasant, a “living” skeleton who is a detective and a 12 year old girl named Stephanie Edgley who renames herself Valkyrie Cain later in the novel. These two characters work together in a series of adventures to try to solve her uncle’s murder and to save the world from doom by an evil character named Serpine. The two main characters meet many magical and mysterious characters who sometimes help and hinder their quest to solve a murder and save the world. The book ends with the two main characters working together in future adventures to solve mysteries and conquer evil. This book, the first in a series of children’s novels, is a supernatural fantasy filled with magic for children. The setting for the book is in Ireland in the mid 20^th century. There’s a central theme of good overcoming evil. The book is organized into sections named for characters or action in that section. The character, Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton, is given human characteristics as are other characters. Magic plays a big role in this book. The characters are involved with continual action throughout the book. Solving the mystery of Stephanie’s uncle and defeating an evil character in his quest to destroy all living humans is the central plot of this book. I recommend students reading the entire Skulduggery Pleasant series.