samidhak's review against another edition
I want to know the end, but the books definitely lost their lustre as the series progressed.
saramarie08's review against another edition
5.0
Illustrations by Gabríel Rodriguez
Thanks to this volume, now there are even MORE keys that do amazing things. There's the Animal Key, which lets you turn into your inner animal as you walk through the door. Bode's inner animal, as it turns out, is a small bird. Zack/Dodge is becoming increasingly more aggressive in trying to get the key to the Black Door, and Tyler becomes suspicious of his friend. Nina starts to get her act back together with Tyler’s help.
This volume also has a little different narration style at the beginning. There is an ode to Bill Watterson and Calvin and Hobbs when Bode is narrating. In the middle, we switch to a a narration by calendar date that shows a progression of time and storyline, mostly presented with very little dialogue and more expressive action scenes. This volume has so many layers that it has a lot of re-readability. The ending is an intense cliff hanger, but the wrap-up of a few storylines in this volume is ushering us on to the finale of this wonderful series.
This title is for older teen audiences and above. There is liberal use of the "f' word, violence with some blood shed, and the mention of pot smoking.
Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: 11-12
Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.
Thanks to this volume, now there are even MORE keys that do amazing things. There's the Animal Key, which lets you turn into your inner animal as you walk through the door. Bode's inner animal, as it turns out, is a small bird. Zack/Dodge is becoming increasingly more aggressive in trying to get the key to the Black Door, and Tyler becomes suspicious of his friend. Nina starts to get her act back together with Tyler’s help.
This volume also has a little different narration style at the beginning. There is an ode to Bill Watterson and Calvin and Hobbs when Bode is narrating. In the middle, we switch to a a narration by calendar date that shows a progression of time and storyline, mostly presented with very little dialogue and more expressive action scenes. This volume has so many layers that it has a lot of re-readability. The ending is an intense cliff hanger, but the wrap-up of a few storylines in this volume is ushering us on to the finale of this wonderful series.
This title is for older teen audiences and above. There is liberal use of the "f' word, violence with some blood shed, and the mention of pot smoking.
Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: 11-12
Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.
smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
Oof, the horror is real. These are some violent comics.
I'm really impressed by Gabriel Rodríguez's art, and the Calvin and Hobbes-style opening really showed his range, and added a surreal twist to the visual style. That episode really highlighted how much heart this series has. Most of the horror I have read doesn't really make you care about the characters very much, but these books really try to invest you in the Locke family.
And Rufus! I love Rufus, and hope that he will get a central role in future books (but not so central that something bad happens to him.)
I'm really impressed by Gabriel Rodríguez's art, and the Calvin and Hobbes-style opening really showed his range, and added a surreal twist to the visual style. That episode really highlighted how much heart this series has. Most of the horror I have read doesn't really make you care about the characters very much, but these books really try to invest you in the Locke family.
And Rufus! I love Rufus, and hope that he will get a central role in future books (but not so central that something bad happens to him.)
sdrawkcabneves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thereistime's review against another edition
5.0
This just keeps getting better and better with each volume. The plot is getting crazy and I need to know what happens next!
ktxx22's review against another edition
5.0
For me this one is the weakest so far, but it’s still 5 star read. The only reason I think it is so weak is because I wasn’t a fan of how quickly the beginning of the book moved. There were parts I would have loved exploring much more in depth. That’s a me problem because I love this world and learning about everything.
melbsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Trigger warnings: gore, death, mental illness, racism, violence, animal cruelty, bullying, death of a child, toxic relationship.
That ending? That ending was fucking WILD.
That ending? That ending was fucking WILD.
magbb's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
gabyelle97's review against another edition
4.0
The writing in this novel was very haphazard in my opinion and I found it kind of difficult to follow the story line as it wasn’t consistent with the previous volumes. For that reason the following of the story wasn’t as clean cut as previous volumes. It seemed like there was a lot of unnecessary filling in this one. However! The ending was shocking! Poor Bode! Quickly onto volume five to see what happens next!
jchinzi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5