Three.  That’s all it took.  Whereas some books use series, some use chapters, and some use pages of text, Reyolds began this book using three powerful, long sentences to get his point across.  Using his artistic talent, Jason Griffin grabbed those words and he chopped and stretched them.  Inserting his special touch, Jason manipulated those words, until he was left with a book that is equally part art and poetry.  To fully appreciate it, I read through it a few times.

It's the combination of art and verse that grabbed me.  The erratic use of language spread across this book, I thought for sure, it had to be more than three sentences for its message was worthy of a novel. I couldn’t help but feel the emotions this young man was experiencing and identify with his frame of mind.  Where is everyone?  Where was his own family?  His mother was physically glued to the TV, his father boxed in another room coughing, his brother lost inside his video games and the telephone was connected to his sister’s ear.  But, really where were they?  He’s looking for a sign in these individuals as his world spins relentlessly.  There’s too much going on and not enough solid answers, as the state of the world, the pandemic and his own world changes.  Why won’t his parents change the channel?  Why doesn’t anyone change the channel? An excellent hard-hitting question.

The contrasting use of color, the edgy images that spread across the page with the limited use of language allow this book to tap into your soul.  I felt energized yet also saddened as the truth this book conveyed hit me. This is not a book you should rush through but slow-down, appreciate those three sentences and the art that surrounds them.  Make sure you read Reynolds and Griffin section in the back of the book titled, “Is Anyone Still Here?”  I highly recommend this book.    

I loved Long Way Down, also written by this author, so when I saw this graphic novel, I knew I had to read it. Long Way Down touched me on so many different levels as the story played out. Jason used space and time to tell this story, the words arranged just right, letting my emotions take over. I love this about free verse; the reader can put a piece of themself into the story.

In Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel, I felt that my attention was centered more on the elevator ride than on the emotions in the story. I was concerned about the individuals on the ride: trying to figure out who Will would encounter each time the elevator door opened on each of the floors and what that individual would mean to him. This book’s focus was totally different than what I had with Long Way Down. I enjoyed learning more about how these individuals mattered and why they were important to Will which I don’t remember focusing on when I read Long Way Down. Whereas Long Way Down was more emotional for me, this graphic novel explained more of Will’s story to me. To me, they complimented one another.

There is a lot of information in this book, this isn’t a graphic novel that you can speed read through. This story is emotional but I think the feelings were angrier and heavier than what I had felt with the other book, when they felt hurtful and heartbreaking. I thought the book was easy to follow and I enjoyed the illustrations. I liked how the illustrations show just enough information not to take away from the text. 4.5 stars.

Every time I read one of these MonsterStreet books, I swear it's the best one that I have read. So, I will say it again, these books just keep getting better and better! I'm hooked on this series! Every time that I hear that a new one is coming out, I'm all over it, just waiting for release day and I'm over 50 years old. This book had it all. It had the creep factor, the suspense, the cliff hangers at the ends of some of the chapters and fantastic characters. Do you need to start at the beginning of this series to enjoy this? No, but I guarantee that you'll be inhaling them, once you start reading them.

As you read books in this series, you'll come across aspects in the mystery that you know or you feel that you know, are not as scary as they come across. What I like about this series is that the author, dismisses many of these aspects immediately, instead of letting them add up, and then dismissing them later in the book. An example: if a character in the book finds a cloth with red liquid on it. Instead of having the reader believe that this cloth is a bloody towel throughout the book, the author lets the characters uncover what the cloth might be immediately and dismisses it as a napkin with ketchup on it. I feel that helps put the important pieces of the mystery together in the book.

Riding to summer camp on the bus, a few of the kids, made friends. They each felt special, as they were amongst a selected group to be invited to Camp Moon Lake. It was said to be magical yet they have promised, like all previous campers before them, not to disclose what occurs while at camp.

When Brodie tells Harper and Darla the rumor that he heard about the camp, this summer camp just took on a chill. As a fog smothers the camp and a scream welcomes the campers, this week at camp will be one that everyone will remember.

I enjoyed the horror aspects of this for young readers. No blood or gore but I would know your audience before letting young elementary children read this. Some children might not be able to handle it, and I'd hate to hear about someone having a nightmare. If a child is able to distinguish reality from everything else, they should be okay reading this. I'm not going to go into what this book was about as I don't want to spoil it. I really loved the book and the ending was amazing! I can't wait for the next one!

Issues: bullying, friendship, family, 

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Another wonderful Judy Moody adventure. I loved these books growing up and I still love them today. They are nice, easy reads that still incorporate great messages and entertaining stories. This one focuses on balancing new friends and old friends, a topic that is very relatable. The story does a good job presenting the excitement of forming relationships with new people and the resulting struggle of keeping previous friendships in your life with very good messages along the way.

There is also bonus content at the end including "10 Things You May Not Know About Megan McDonald" (which includes a little anecdote about the real-life inspiration to that traumatic newt storyline from Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid) and "10 Things You May Not Know About Peter H. Reynolds" as well as how to say "Hello" and "Later" in various languages as featured in Judy Moody's Way Wacky Uber Awesome Book of More Fun Stuff to Do.

A great book about friendship, class projects, and problem solving told in perfect Judy Moody fashion.