Mary Downing Hahn

[edit]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I expected this to be a calm and only slightly spooky horror tale. Imagine my surprise when elements of the story were WAY darker than I expected them to be! I've never read anything by Mary Downing Hahn before, and honestly, this novel makes me want to look into her other works. Or see more graphic novel adaptions of her works! The beginning of the novel feels very stereotypical, a common "We're spending the summer with Grandma and have an adventure" type of story. But in the middle, it changes into something with genuinely good suspense and a mystery that keeps you hooked. While yes, this is intended for middle school age readers, it is still very much a horror story and doesn't shy away from that fact. Though I will say, even as an adult reader, my jaw dropped at how gruesome some of the plot elements are. I'm not going to say what those exact elements are, because I don't want to spoil it, but if I read this while I was in middle school, I think I would have lost my marbles just a wee bit. The ending was bittersweet and so well done. All of the plot threads are tied up neatly in a bow, and everyone gets what they deserve. The art style is excellent! They really made you feel just how terrifying some of the ghosts are, through the art alone. I will admit, the main reason I even choose this graphic novel to read is because I loved the art on the cover. If there are more adaptions of Hahn's ghost series, I really hope they have this team illustrate those as well!… (lisätietoja)