Several years ago a young boy at our old church told us about these. We told him we’d buy them for him if he kept coming to church (he was from a broken/blended family and it was a messy situation no matter how you looked at it). We were doing whatever we could to encourage him to read, as his biological father was giving him those really violent, almost pornographic videogames (he was 10 or 11). Sadly, he drifted away and I have no idea where he’s at now.
But Mrs B and I both read a couple to make sure it was appropriate to buy and enjoyed them. Not enough to buy them for ourselves though 😉
Oh man, what a story. Who would’ve thought that this series would draw the attention of kids to that point. It’s nice deal you offered him though, despite him disappearing, leaving you with no clue what happened to him. Maybe life will allow you find out someday.
I’ll still give some of the next volumes a try to see if there’s something that really hooks me but for now it doesn’t stand out from the lot as much as I wish it did.
Yea, it does feel familiar. I enjoyed the story and the illustrations too when I read it. Actually, I love the artwork more than the story but thought both were good.
Hahah I remember your review for this one too. It helped a lot in bringing down my expectations for this one. I’ll probably try a couple of more volumes before quitting though. The artwork really is neat in this series! 😀
Sounds like something I would have loved to read when I was younger. Good to hear that it is still engaging for adults. Too bad that it’s not a totally stand alone.
Very interesting review, as always, Lashaan! I find that in books that are targeted to a young-but-not-so-young audience (young adults or “old” teenagers) it is quite hard to have a good balance between the two “ages”. It can often feel too familiar or too serious, and having a perfect combination must be quite hard! Don’t know if this was very clear hahah, thanks for sharing your insight 😊
Thank you so much, Juliette! It is indeed hard to be original and impress different target audiences, but the challenge is not impossible, which is why I felt like this one could achieve it and maybe it does the next volumes. 😂
That about sums up what I expected to think about Amulet. As an adult reader I do get tired of the introduction feel many stories exude. Throw us right in. We’ll build the world in our heads as we go. I’m honestly not a fan of the art. I like the look of manga too much to enjoy this but I’m sure kids love it especially because of the color, and I loved your thoughts about why these colors. Will you continue the series?
Yep. It feels like it would’ve needed a couple of more chapters to make it really stand out but… it still remains an excellent entry point for many young readers, I think. Ohhh, that’s interesting! I didn’t expect anyone to dislike the artwork hahaha but I can understand what you mean. This one aims to do something in-between cartoons and manga instead of assuming one or the other. I’ll try and continue the series but I still need to get my hands on volume 2 hahah 😀
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Great review! I haven’t come across this or the author but then I don’t read near as many graphic novels as I would like.
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Thanks, Jules! It’s a nice entry point to comics for all ages to be honest. It’s all-around wonderful. 😀
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Several years ago a young boy at our old church told us about these. We told him we’d buy them for him if he kept coming to church (he was from a broken/blended family and it was a messy situation no matter how you looked at it). We were doing whatever we could to encourage him to read, as his biological father was giving him those really violent, almost pornographic videogames (he was 10 or 11). Sadly, he drifted away and I have no idea where he’s at now.
But Mrs B and I both read a couple to make sure it was appropriate to buy and enjoyed them. Not enough to buy them for ourselves though 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh man, what a story. Who would’ve thought that this series would draw the attention of kids to that point. It’s nice deal you offered him though, despite him disappearing, leaving you with no clue what happened to him. Maybe life will allow you find out someday.
I’ll still give some of the next volumes a try to see if there’s something that really hooks me but for now it doesn’t stand out from the lot as much as I wish it did.
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Yea, it does feel familiar. I enjoyed the story and the illustrations too when I read it. Actually, I love the artwork more than the story but thought both were good.
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Hahah I remember your review for this one too. It helped a lot in bringing down my expectations for this one. I’ll probably try a couple of more volumes before quitting though. The artwork really is neat in this series! 😀
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Awesome! It’s def a good one for when you need something quick and fun and light.
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So….why three stars only Lashaan???
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I prefer originality over familiarity, Sophie! 😉
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Fab review!
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Thank you so much, Nicki! 😀
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Sounds like something I would have loved to read when I was younger. Good to hear that it is still engaging for adults. Too bad that it’s not a totally stand alone.
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Exactly. I would keep this on my list of MG/YA recommendation list.
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Very interesting review, as always, Lashaan! I find that in books that are targeted to a young-but-not-so-young audience (young adults or “old” teenagers) it is quite hard to have a good balance between the two “ages”. It can often feel too familiar or too serious, and having a perfect combination must be quite hard! Don’t know if this was very clear hahah, thanks for sharing your insight 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Juliette! It is indeed hard to be original and impress different target audiences, but the challenge is not impossible, which is why I felt like this one could achieve it and maybe it does the next volumes. 😂
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Yes of course, I hope it does too 😁
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That about sums up what I expected to think about Amulet. As an adult reader I do get tired of the introduction feel many stories exude. Throw us right in. We’ll build the world in our heads as we go. I’m honestly not a fan of the art. I like the look of manga too much to enjoy this but I’m sure kids love it especially because of the color, and I loved your thoughts about why these colors. Will you continue the series?
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Yep. It feels like it would’ve needed a couple of more chapters to make it really stand out but… it still remains an excellent entry point for many young readers, I think. Ohhh, that’s interesting! I didn’t expect anyone to dislike the artwork hahaha but I can understand what you mean. This one aims to do something in-between cartoons and manga instead of assuming one or the other. I’ll try and continue the series but I still need to get my hands on volume 2 hahah 😀
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