The other day I was looking for a book at the library. Never did find that one, but in the browsing, I picked up The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth. It looked interesting enough, the cover a “spooky” brown and green mix. The boy heading into light but not necessarily good looking light. And that tree like “Lost Boy” font/title gave it mystery and supernatural vibes.
Open it up and you see black and white illustrations. They are nice enough, detailed, but not overly so. The lack of color is off putting at first and might turn off some today readers, but it gives the story a spooky element and keeps it feeling classic. It was the nagging, “Why does this book feel familiar?” that kept annoying me. I figured that I might have read something similar (it had a tone of a 1980s story, and I read several thrillers back in the day) or maybe, and this felt more likely, I had read it in a novel format and now was reading the graphic novel version. However, I concluded I had read that exact format before, and not just because I figured out the story twist about halfway through. I should have realized it when I started to notice that places were a bit disjointed, (that was why it was familiar feeling, I had the same issues the time before) and the evil, angry Groot look-alike character.
The kid reader will have little issues with the bumps I had with this story of how two boys, years apart, intertwine because of an old tape recorder and some magical events and creatures. The action is simple enough. Walt (the character from the 1960s or so) and Nate (the “now” child), with Tabitha (a local girl) have encounters with the otherworldly creatures around them. The events that occur are simple: they will save the world or destroy it. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it is not my favorite. For readers aged 10 up who likes mystery, supernatural and friendship stories.