Category: Middle Grade

Title: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Missing Adults
Author: Scott Bryan Wilson, Bob Solanovics
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Eating candy nonstop and watching TV all day sounds great . . . until you actually do it, as the kids of Bayport High find out when all the adults vanish, and the world’s greatest (high school) detectives–the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew!–have to team up to solve the mystery! Whether it’s going under cover, sneaking out at night, chasing weird buses, or following a strange smell, they know it’ll take all their wits and smarts to get their parents and teachers back . . . that is, if Joe and Frank don’t kill each other first. Oh, and there’s also the matter of the skeleton that can walk. And a major feud with a rival high school. And a koala-in-a-diaper costume. And lawlessness in the hallways. And an unrequited crush . . .

Review:

I love that there are so many new adaptations of Nancy Drew happening right now. I have enjoyed many of them, but this one didn’t really work for me.

The characters were quite exaggerated in this story. Joe was lazy and excitable. He got furious anytime anyone called him something other than Joe. His outbursts became quite repetitive after a while. Nancy was very secretive about her past life. It was strange and the reason was not explained in the story. Perhaps the reason will come out in future books, if this becomes a series.

I also thought the illustrations didn’t match the characters. Nancy looked like the main character from the cartoon Daria, but Nancy is nothing like that character. She didn’t look like any version of Nancy Drew I’ve ever seen before. The Hardy Boys looked like opposites, with Frank in a button down shirt and Joe sporting a mohawk hairstyle. We didn’t even get to see some of my favourite characters, George and Bess. George was illustrated once and Bess was mentioned in dialogue but they didn’t do anything in the story. I wasn’t familiar with the supporting characters that were in the story.

This graphic novel didn’t really work for me. The characters were too extreme and not true to the originals.

Thank you Dynamite Entertainment for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Demon of River Heights (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #1) by Stefan Petrucha, Sho Murase

The Ocean of Osyria (The Hardy Boys Graphic Novel #1) by Scott Lobdell, Lea Hernandez

Have you read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Missing Adults? What did you think of it?

Title: DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High
Author: Amy Wolfram, Yancey Labat
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: DC Zoom
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A new era of DC Super Hero Girls begins in DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High!

Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Bumblebee, and Zatanna are continually late to class because of their crime-fighting, and Principal Chapin is tired of hearing their excuses. These girls need to show more school spirit…or else they’ll be suspended!

Principal Chapin’s demand that they each find an after-school club and stick with it for a whole week seems easy, until the girls get kicked out of the clubs they choose. Instead, they must think outside the box and step out of their comfort zones. As if having secret identities and balancing school with super-heroics didn’t offer enough challenges!

Review:

I love the DC Super Hero Girls graphic novels. It’s great to see these familiar characters interacting in their high school. 

This graphic novel was a little different from the other DC Super Hero Girls books I’ve read because the girls were divided into groups of super heroes versus villains. They are usually a big group of friends, not divided. This was part of the storyline, because the superhero girls were getting in trouble for being late at school, but the villain girls somehow always made it there on time, even when they were wrecking havoc. 

A funny part of this graphic novel was that the teachers were never shown. They weren’t even given dialogue. This reminded me of Charlie Brown, where the teachers and adults only make noises, but we never actually understand what they’re saying. This made the students the focus of the story, rather than what the teachers were telling them. 

I really enjoyed this graphic novel!

Thank you DC Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

What to read next:

DC Super Hero Girls: Finals Crisis by Shea Fontana, Yancey Labat

Have you read DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High? What did you think of it?

Title: Unplugged and Unpopular
Author: Mat Heagerty, Tintin Pantoja, Mike Amante
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Oni Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

After Erin Song’s parents ban her from using her phone, TV, Internet, and all her screens, she soon discovers mysterious, strange creatures and must foil their plot to take over Earth in this sci-fi graphic novel for tweens.

Erin Song lives in a digital world. Everyone has a phone, a tablet, a computer—more screens than you can count. Even with a world of information at her fingertips, Erin can’t figure out the secret to popularity at her clique-y junior high school. So when uber-popular Wendy asks for help cheating on a test, Erin jumps at the opportunity. This could be her big break! Unfortunately, she gets caught, and her parents ban her from all her devices. Suddenly, Erin Song is the only girl in the world who’s not allowed to look at a screen.

And that’s when Erin notices something funny: small, furry aliens making humans disappear with a weird device Erin’s never seen before. No one else notices them, though—except Erin’s grandmother and two old men who run the local library. They’ve discovered that the aliens are using screens to control the human race, tricking them into thinking they aren’t really there—and that anyone who’s been abducted never existed.

Now it’s up to Erin and her grandmother to save the day! But without technology on their side, do they stand a chance?

Review:

This was a great graphic novel about technology taking over our world.

In this story, Erin gets grounded, and has all of her electronic devices taken away. She can’t use her phone, computer, or even TV. She was already unpopular at school, so this just made her social life even worse. However, since she wasn’t plugged into the devices, she discovered that aliens were actually brainwashing and abducting humans through their phones. It turned out to be a good thing that she had a break from her devices.

Erin works with her grandmother and two elderly men to save Earth from the aliens. The police wouldn’t listen to the old people because they thought they were crazy. They also wouldn’t listen to Erin because she was young. This shows that even though someone may be young or old, you shouldn’t dismiss what they’re saying because it could be important.

I loved this graphic novel!

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson

Have you read Unplugged and Unpopular? What did you think of it?

Title: Boy-Crazy Stacey (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #7)
Author: Gale Galligan, Ann M. Martin
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Graphix
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Stacey and Mary Anne are baby-sitting for the Pike family for two weeks at the New Jersey shore. Things are great in Sea City: There’s a gorgeous house right on the beach, a boardwalk, plenty of sun and sand… and the cutest boy Stacey has ever seen!

Mary Anne thinks that Stacey should leave Scott alone and focus on the Pike kids, but Stacey’s in love. Looking for reasons to hang around his lifeguard stand takes up all of her time, which means Mary Anne has to do the job of two baby-sitters. Mary Anne doesn’t like it one bit! How can she tell Stacey that Scott just isn’t interested without ruining their friendship and breaking Stacey’s heart? 

Review:

The babysitters are much more grown up in this story. Stacey and Mary Anne go on a family vacation with the Pike family and their eight children. While they’re away, Stacey meets two boys she really likes. She falls for them, and even has her heart broken. It was an exciting two weeks for them.

I wish the other characters were more prominent in this story. They appeared briefly at the beginning, but then the story followed Stacey and Mary Anne on their trip. They sent postcards to the other babysitters, but their replies were never shown. I would have liked to see what they were all doing during their vacation.

This was another great graphic novel adaptation of the Babysitters Club!

What to read next:

Boy-Crazy Stacey (The Babysitters Club #8) by Ann M. Martin

Have you read Boy-Crazy Stacey? What did you think of it?