Are you tired of the summer heat? Looking for a sweet and spooky Halloween treat? If you are, I would recommend picking up Aliza Lane’s graphic novel Beetle & the Hollowbones in between staring longingly at your calendar and cursing the humidity. It was hard to be grumpy about the hot weather while I was following the story of twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, her best friend Blob Ghost, and her old best friend Kat Hollowbones. Beetle is being home-schooled by her grandmother and trying to learn goblin magic, which doesn’t seem to be coming naturally to her. We quickly find out that Blob Ghost can’t leave the mall they are haunting, and Beetle starts looking for magical and non-magical solutions to help Blob Ghost untether themself from the mall. The stakes are raised even higher once Kat Hollowbones returns to town, accompanying her aunt who she is apprenticed to. Kat’s aunt has nefarious plans to turn the town upside down, and her schemes include the demolition of the mall. Beetle and Kat’s relationship is quickly tested in their quest to save Blob Ghost before it’s too late.
I highly recommend this magical adventure of friendship, love, and self discovery to all ages. The artwork and story are so thoroughly thought out and well-detailed that I felt very much in the story, riding Beetle’s grandmother’s broomstick and running around the mall right alongside Beetle and her friends. If you enjoyed graphic novels like Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker, and Snapdragon by Kat Leyh, then you won’t be disappointed by this enchanting mission to save the day with Beetle and her friends.
Review by Megan Hultman of the Children’s Department.
Click here to request a copy.
