Graphic Novel Review – Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne, Natalie Riess, Kristen Acampora (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 4, 2020
ISBN-13 : 978-1534441538
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Christmas Gift
Rating: 3/5 stars
“In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.
Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered there by some unseen force. And now Beetle’s old best friend, Kat, is back in town for a sorcery apprenticeship with her Aunt Hollowbone. Kat is everything Beetle wants to be: beautiful, cool, great at magic, and kind of famous online. Beetle’s quickly being left in the dust.
But Kat’s mentor has set her own vile scheme in motion. If Blob Ghost doesn’t escape the mall soon, their afterlife might be coming to a very sticky end. Now, Beetle has less than a week to rescue her best ghost, encourage Kat to stand up for herself, and confront the magic she’s been avoiding for far too long. And hopefully ride a broom without crashing.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. My son got this as a gift for Christmas and I stole (borrowed) it from him to read.
Story (3/5): The story is about goblin-witch Beetle who is trying to save her friend Blob Ghost from the destruction of the shopping mall he is bound to. Woven in and out of the Blob Ghost issue is Beetle’s evaporating friendship with her friend Kat, who is so much cooler and more successful than Beetle. This is a pretty simple story about friendship and being true to yourself. It’s very much aimed at middle grade girls. Adults will probably find it a bit simple and silly, my son thought it was okay but just too girly for him.
Characters (3/5): The characters here are fairly stereotypical and a bit over-characterized. Beetle is home-schooled and struggles with her lack of friends, looks, and popularity. Kat is super glamorous and popular but struggles with the expectations placed on her. They are all fine and I enjoyed the friendship and family interactions throughout.
Setting (3/5): This is set in a world much like our own but with a Halloweenish overtone. It was (again) fine but not all that original.
Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): This is decently drawn with bright colors and a cartoony look to it. The drawings are easy to follow and add a lot to the story. The story is fairly simple but well put together. In the end I was pretty ambivalent about this book. I kind of thought, “Huh, well that was okay…onto something else.” It’s decently done…I just think I was not at all the target audience and this isn’t a graphic novel that plays very well outside its target crowd.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this is a decently done graphic novel that is solidly targeted at a certain female pre-teen audience that loves malls and is concerned about fitting in with the crowd. There are some pleasant family interactions, some lessons about embracing who you are and being true to your friends. I thought the story was pretty simple and the setting was a bit unimaginative. I don’t plan on reading any more graphic novels by this author. However, the color palette and illustration are generally well done and I am sure some will enjoy it.
