August 8, 2023 by Razorbill
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Gwen is a young witch trying out her magic in our world, and it's been a struggle to get spells right. She's broken several wands, and is currently using one made out of the wood of her beloved skateboard. As Halloween approaches, she welcomes the visit of her friends Miles and Sloane. Miles is a vampire, and Sloan is a werewolf, and they live most of the year in the Hallowlands, where all manner of monsters run rampant. They enjoy visiting Gwen and spending time in the somewhat less dangerous world she inhabits, and this year bring her a grimoire, so she doesn't have to make up all of her own spells. Of course, there are always problems. This year, Hiro is bound and determined to investigate Gwen and her odd doings, ala the Ghost Scramblers show that he watches. He runs afoul of Bea, who just wants Hiro to cool it. Gwen and her friends visit a haunted house and talk to the spirit of Esther, who lets Miles and Sloane stay in the house. They run into problems as Hiro's attempts to take them down intensify, Gwen tries to ramp up her magic to fight him, with mixed results. At one point, she summons a monster from the Hallowlands, and at the end of the book a portal in the corn maze is shown being closed, so there are a lot of opportunities for a sequel.
Strengths: Halloween is a very popular topic in middle school, and there are very few books set during this holiday time. Gwen's magic is something that many middle grade readers firmly believe they could master with enough practice, and even if they can't, they can emulate her pink hair. Having friends from an alternate universe is always cool, even more so when they are a vampire and a werewolf. Hiro is a motivated adversary who doesn't have quite enough information about Gwen and her friends, so he heads off in completely wrong directions a lot of the time. The illustration style is very different from many middle grade graphic novels, which gives this an eerie, weird vibe that goes well with the story.
Weaknesses: I felt like I was missing some back story on this, but it does seem to be the first book. I didn't enjoy the misbehavior at the mall, especially when the three were in a Spencer's Gifts type store, and when they are kicked out, yell nasty things to one of the clerks, calling him old in a denigrating way. There's also some garden variety swearing, and Gwen calls a monster she is fighting b****, so this seems more young adult and might not be the best choice for elementary schools.
What I really think: This annoyed me a bit because of the questionable behavior, which means it will be an excellent choice for middle school students who think that wearing all black and ripped fish net stockings is new and innovative. Hand to fans of Davault's Misfit Mansion or Thummler's Sheets.
Weaknesses: I felt like I was missing some back story on this, but it does seem to be the first book. I didn't enjoy the misbehavior at the mall, especially when the three were in a Spencer's Gifts type store, and when they are kicked out, yell nasty things to one of the clerks, calling him old in a denigrating way. There's also some garden variety swearing, and Gwen calls a monster she is fighting b****, so this seems more young adult and might not be the best choice for elementary schools.
What I really think: This annoyed me a bit because of the questionable behavior, which means it will be an excellent choice for middle school students who think that wearing all black and ripped fish net stockings is new and innovative. Hand to fans of Davault's Misfit Mansion or Thummler's Sheets.
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