Reviews

The Ghoul Next Door by Cullen Bunn

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rileylopez's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

mehsi's review against another edition

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5.0

A perfect read for Halloween. Ghouls, friendship, spookiness!

I am SO glad I bought this book! And even happier that Amazon had it in stock. They are so finnicky with releases lately so I am glad I got it in time for the spookiest time of the year, Spooktober. The month leading up to Halloween!

In this book we meet a boy named Grey who lives in New-England, the place that, if I have to believe all the books and movies I have seen floating around, is very haunted! Though I am sure that Grey just thought that meant ghosts. Not angry witches and ghouls that want to be friends with him. Yep. You read that one right. Grey has attracted the liking of a ghoul. What happens next is equal measures spooky and cute. Because Lavinia (that is her name and I loved it) likes giving gifts and helping out Grey. I had a laugh at Grey though, because back in the beginning of the book he was just utterly frightened (and understandably so) because of the gifts and the mysterious being that kept entering his house at night. I mean, I don’t blame him, I would also be frightened if I got dead stuff as gifts. Dolls with teeth. A bone comb.

But then they meet and they become fast friends. I just loved seeing Lavinia and Grey together and I adored seeing her tell the gruesome stories about the town he lives in. From a second library with the bad books that no one should touch to a potential huge ass snake living in the sewers.

But then things go south, because ghouls and humans aren’t supposed to be friends. And from that moment the book gets even more exciting and a tad more spooky and haunting when Grey and Lavinia have to go deep inside Necropolis to get back someone. I just LOVED this part and I loved finding out more about ghouls, about the bad witch, see the town and see where all the ghouls lived when not sucking on someone’s dead body.
How it all ended was just such a trip and I was on the edge of my very comfy seat because how would this one end? I am a bit sad by the last pages, I guess I could have seen it coming..

The art was just perfect fitting for this book. I loved the designs for the characters, Lavinia and the other ghouls especially. Necropolis was just gorgeous (though no, I wouldn’t want to visit XD).

All in all, a very awesome book that I would recommend to all in the need for something spooky but also love good friendships.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

amburbe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

33tbird's review against another edition

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4.0

Cute story!! I’m a nerd so the lore and history of Ghouls and such was interesting— and the artwork was awesome!

I read this book to prove to my students that the books at the school library are interesting; and I did just that :p

alexutzu's review against another edition

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4.0

There were many beautiful and wholesome moments in this book, as well as some nice wordplay and discussions. The artwork was also quite nice and the story made me emotional.

frozenheartv's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

🧠 My thoughts

Wow, it’s pretty hard to find a graphic novel that has both nice artwork and a good story, this book has both. The artwork was stunning, the chosen color palette was satisfying to look at, and the story was heart-warming. Might be one of my favorite graphic novels so far this year.

👍 What I like