Book Review: Halloween Girl (Vol. 1-2) by Richard T. Wilson

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

An interesting story, but maybe watch the film this is based off of before reading it.

Book CWs: For a list of content/trigger warnings, tropes, and representation found in this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com!

Series Premise

‘Death is a lot of damned work’, thinks 18-year-old ghost, Charlotte Williams, as she braves the unsettled world of the In-Between. It’s here the rebellious teen finds the clues she so desperately needs in her battle against diabolic, secret society, The Hollow (who took her life and just happen to be trying to end the world!).

Upon her return to the ‘Bone Yard’ (aka Crystal Springs Cemetery), Charlotte meets up with 20- something supernatural bestie Poe, an acerbic goth who works with her to decipher the latest clues. Fellow ghost, Poe is something of a big sister to Charlotte; strong, hilarious – and always full of secrets. Though Charlotte’s already been dead several years, Poe, on the other hand, may be as old as time! As past victims of The Hollow, both are now intensely dedicated to stopping the evil sect, who chillingly view human existence as a ‘failed experiment’.

After several fraught run-ins with ‘the Devil’s janitors’ (as Poe calls them), Charlotte is devastated when The Hollow kidnap her young son, Luke, in retaliation. Charlotte then suffers from the guilt of screwing up his young life ‘even in death’, before forming a plan with Poe to get him back – and make The Hollow pay.

Ultimately, Charlotte and Poe are forced to cosmically separate in their search for Luke.

However, in doing so, they’re both severely tested and must grapple with their limitations – and their own dark pasts. Along the way, they meet a string of colorful characters both in ‘Hollow Land’ and the All-American (or is it?) Crystal Springs – and maybe even save the world.

Purchase Issue 1 (affiliate link): Amazon

Review (No Spoilers)

Hello everyone! I was lucky enough to get a free copy of both Halloween Girl Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in exchange for an honest review, so here we go!

Firstly, I don’t know how I didn’t realize this before I started reading these graphic novels, but these are not standalones. The characters in Halloween Girl are from a short 20 min film called The Halloween Girl that came out in 2019. There is also a sister web series that you can check out called, “Under the Flowers”. I read the books without watching the film (because I hadn’t realized this) and was a bit confused as to who exactly Charlotte was and what her powers are, so I would definitely recommend watching the short beforehand. Thankfully there were enough information in the graphic novels for me to infer a bit about everyone.

Whenever I read a graphic novel, one of the main things that affects my enjoyment of the book is how much I like the art. There are many graphic novels that I’ve downright refused to read based on my dislike of the art and there are also some graphic novels I’ve read where the art took away from my enjoyment. Things that I look for are realistic looking drawings as well as distinguishable character features (in other words, can I easily tell two characters apart from each other). I’m happy to say that I was a huge fan of the artist for Halloween Girl. I thought Stephen Mullan did a great job at making things aesthetically pleasing while making them both realistic and scary. My only complaint is that the actual pages in the copies I received were black and white. This didn’t take away from my reading experience but I do think the pages would look really cool if they were in color.

In terms of the story of Halloween Girl, I don’t think I have enough information to make an accurate decision. It’s one of the reasons I had a hard time rating the books. Each volume is very short and ends in a cliffhanger, so I won’t know the entire story arc until I read more installments. That being said, I would definitely be interested in continuing the series as the characters are extremely interesting. If you’re interested in this series, please check it out! Each installment is a short read (approximately 5 min each) so you could really pick them up at any time.

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