Art was great! Story was... bizarre, and not in the good way. ( )

An interesting story about ghosts, zombie boys and two young girls at a boarding school. Nothing really gets fleshed out in terms of backstory so the narrative comes off a bit thin but still an enjoyable read. The youngest sister's personality hints at some autism spectrum but it is never explicit in the story. ( )

Continuing the trend of reading books selected for the Summer Reading program, I read Graveyard Shakes by Laura Terry. The reader follows two very different storylines that at the outset have no correlation to one another. The first revolves around two sisters who have newly arrived at a boarding school and are struggling to come to terms with their change of environment. The second focuses on a little ghost and his friend Modie (I don't know either) who as best as I can tell is a reanimated corpse. So on the one hand we are rooted in reality with a situation that seems very familiar: wanting to fit in yet also wanting to be recognized as the individual that you are. On the other hand, the supernatural elements of ghosts and zombies are compacted with horror because the only way that Modie can stay 'alive' is to absorb the soul of a dead (i.e. murdered) child. Yes, this is a middle grade graphic novel. (It is at this point that I have essentially 'sold' this book to the reluctant child reader standing in front of me while the parent stares at me open mouthed.) The good parts: The illustrative style was excellent and I really enjoyed the character journey of Victoria, the older sister. The not so good: It was way more disturbing and graphic than I expected plus the ending was entirely too predictable after all of the narrative build-up. While I did thoroughly enjoy the illustrations, I don't know that I'll be rushing out to read Terry's next work (unless the cover draws me in again). I didn't overwhelmingly dislike this book but I also didn't love it with all of my heart and soul (get outta here, Modie!). The little guys and ghouls in your life that love a good ghost story will probably fall head-over-heels for this one. 5/10 ( )

A complex story for children about two sisters who are new to a boarding school, don't fit in, and get mixed up in the scheme of an evil scientist to keep his son alive. However, the plot line seemed a little dark for the age group 8-11. A scientist used ghost from the underworld to lure children to his home so that he can sacrifice the child to keep his own son alive. The ghost prayed on children who were alone. The story tells you repeatedly that the ghost can't hurt you however they did "kill" another ghost. Too many unanswered questions are within this book and everything in the end turned out "happy" without much explanation left me feeling this title was rushed. The book is just odd. The artwork however is amazing . ( )

This is an interesting book. On the surface I want to say it's great with a strong message of accepting yourself and others. It shows bullying and kids trying to fit in. It shows siblings trying to find their places in the relationship, and parents dealing with loss. All the "right" things. However, mostly I just found it odd. The author didn't introduce characters well and I felt like I was reading a sequel. There are active relationships between ghosts, humans, and... half-dead, maybe? It's just weird. There's a happy ending and definitely a message of self-confidence and friendship. ( )