Graphic Novel Review – Lilith Dark and the Beastie Tree by Charles Dowd (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Length: 128 pages
Publisher: Alterna
Release Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1934985403
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from Edelweiss
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Lilith Dark has no time for tea parties and princess stuff, she’s far too busy fighting off wicked creatures and fantastic beasts…or at least that’s how she imagines things. One day Lilith follows a mysterious kitten into an old tree, and discovers an entire world of real beasties that have been living right under her nose! When Lilith declares herself Queen and demands a feast to celebrate, she never imagined that her big sister would be the main course. Lilith, with the help of her big brother Dewey, her pet monster, and a T-Rex, must face her fears to rescue her sister from the evil beasties and save the day before bedtime.”

I was really excited to read this book because I love a lot of the middle grade fantasy graphic novels that are coming out by various authors. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed by this book. I thought the artwork was a bit rough and unfinished looking and the story was kind of disjointed and confusing.

Lilith Dark likes to imagine herself as a great warrior fighting monsters; even when she’s just doing regular everyday activities. However, when she chases a kitten into the Beastie Tree things get a little bit too real.

The artwork had some nice coloration to it but I felt like it was inconsistent throughout; some of it was good and some felt really unfinished. Additionally I thought the story was a bit disjointed and confusing. It’s hard to follow if Lilith is making things up, if she’s in the real world, or if she’s dealing with a monster world of real beasties. Maybe that’s the point of the story but it felt kind of disjointed to me.

Overall this was okay but not great; I don’t plan on reading future books in the series. I gave it to my 10 year old son to read and he felt the same way about it, he said “It was okay but I don’t want to read any more of these.”

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge