Readers who like autumn and all things Halloween will want to pick this one up, but so will readers who enjoy character-driven stories with lovable protagonists and a feel-good ending.A Stonewall Honor Book An enchanting, riotous, and playfully illustrated debut graphic novel following a young goblin trying to save her best friend from the haunted mall-perfect for fans of Steven Universe and Adventure Time. I think readers will fall in love with all three of our heroes.īeetle & the Hollowbones is an enchanting middle-grade novel that is darkly atmospheric but more charming than scary. Their journey is both engaging and uplifting. They will have to work past self-doubt, jealousy, crush drama, and teenage angst to solve the problem. Their relationship lies at the heart of the story, along with Beetle’s friendship and budding romance with longtime friend Kat–an undead skeleton. What matters is that Blob Ghost is in danger and Beetle would do anything to help her cute, shape-shifting friend. Even the reasons for the destruction of the mall remain nebulous–maybe something to do with family heritage, maybe a family secret that must remain hidden. The actual plot of the book is somewhat simple. It is only when Blob Ghost’s existence is threatened by the demolition of the mall that Beetle and her friends have to band together to figure out what is keeping Blob Ghost from leaving. They do things any teenager would do, window shopping, getting snacks, and so on–but always with a slightly spooky twist that makes it fun to see what will happen to Beetle and Blob Ghost next. Beetle spends most of days hanging out at the local mall, where her friend Blob Ghost lives.

Our heroine Beetle is a goblin who wants to perform sorcery, but she can’t attend school and her grandmother is committed to teaching her goblin magic instead. The juxtaposition between the everyday and the macabre is part of what makes this story so unique. Readers who enjoy middle-grade fantasy comics will love Beetle & the Hollowbones. The deep orange and blue hues draw readers into Beetle’s Halloween-esque world, a world where goblins, skeletons, and ghosts all mingle–sometimes doing things as normal as going to the mall, sometimes fighting each other with magic for survival. Beetle & the Hollowbones is a beautifully-drawn graphic novel that evokes a spooky, autumnal feeling even as it tells a feel-good story about finding one’s self and standing by one’s friends.

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