Monday, January 1, 2018

Review - The Stonekeeper

The Stonekeeper (Amulet #1)
by Kazu Kibuishi
Date: 2008
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Reading level: MG
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 193
Format: e-book
Source: library

After a family tragedy, Emily, Navin, and their mother move to an old ancestral home to start a new life. On the family's very first night in the mysterious house, a strange noise lures them into the basement, where Em and Navin's mom is kidnapped by a humongous, tentacled creature and dragged down behind the basement door.

The kids give chase down a twisty spiral stairway and find themselves in a strange and magical world below. Most surprising of all, it seems that their great-grandfather, who was an inventor and puzzle maker, was there before them – and he's left some unfinished business.

Now it's up to Em and Navin to figure out how to set things right and save their mother's life!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This graphic novel starts in on the action within the first few pages and never stops!

The beginning is a little heavy for kids (think: what happens to the parents in many an animated Disney movie), but the rest of the story has plenty of crazy creatures and adventures to keep its target audience entertained. I found the "chosen one" thing to be a little cliche, and it led to more questions (why Emily and not Navin, for example), but I'm interested to see where the story will go next.

Like some graphic novels in a series, there's no real ending to the story here. By the last page, the kids are still trying to accomplish their goal; they've just moved on to a new locale. I'm not the biggest fan of this sort of thing; I like the books I read to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But the illustrations are nice enough and I'm intrigued enough by the storyline to want to find out what happens next, so I'll probably check out at least the second book in this series at some point.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 4/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustration: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.38 out of 5 ladybugs

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