Graphic Novel Review – Kind (The Good Neighbors, Book 3) by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Urban Fantasy
Size: 128 pages
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Release Date: October 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0439855679
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Good Neighbors series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is the third and final book in The Good Neighbors graphic novel series by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh. It was a decent, if abrupt ending to the series. I enjoyed learning how Rue dealt with all of the issues facing her.

The land of fairy has taken over Rue’s city. Rue has to decide if she will take her place by her mother’s side and rule in Fairy or if she will try to save the city she loves. Rue is not human, so is it her responsibility to try and save humanity?

I enjoyed the story; it was interesting to watch Rue try to reconcile her new identity with her past life. She is torn between helping her human friends and taking her place as heir to the Fairy throne. There is a bit of mystery as she tries to find a way to save the city from Fairy.

Everything is tied up very well, but the pacing is a bit off throughout the book. The story develops well in the first half and then bam! the ending is abrupt and kind of slaps the reader in the face. I was left feeling a bit startled and kind of thinking “wow that was tied up quickly”. It seemed like a lot of build up for such a simple and abrupt solution.

The characters were so-so; there are a lot of them in the story and I never became all that attached to them. The drawing does a good job of distinguishing between characters and showing facial expressions. The story is drawn in black and white and decently done; it conveyed the surroundings well and did a good job of helping the story along. I wouldn’t say the illustration is beautiful or awe-inspiring but it is okay.

Overall a decent conclusion to this series. I liked that all the loose ends were tied up, but felt like the story ended very abruptly. I never engaged with the characters very well and felt like the pacing was off. Still if you have read the first two books in the series, I would go ahead and read this one as it provides a satisfying ending. I tentatively recommend this series to those who enjoy urban fantasy stories.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Challenge
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 150+ Books Reading Challenge
– TBR Pile Reading Challenge