Volume 3 of Hooky shows us what the kids can really do when they start to free themselves from the adults and start building the world they want to see. There’s a three year time skip at the start and due to a probably natural death, it’s time for some big decisions, like does Monica really want to marry William like she’s said for a good chunk of the story up to now? Or maybe has her heart shifted? Dorian has been missing the entire time, and most everyone knows kind of what’s up with Dani, no one has seen or talked with her directly in the entire three years either, with one exception. The big adventure starts when the gang has to locate Dorian and rescue/fix Dani from her current not good situation, so they can try to solve the war between witches and mundane humans.
There’s a lot of self- examination as the various members of the main group try to figure out what/who it is they really want, and they have to try and fix a fractured society in which witches and mundanes have basically been at war but settled into separate territories for the past three years. It’s a lot to do in one volume, but it all mostly does get settled. What happens to some of the surviving adults is a little bit vague, but it works in one case because the final outcome is only suggested and leaving it to the imagination based on the wordless visual is more satisfying that way, and not quite as well in the other when there’s no major reckoning for what said adult deliberately did (including murder) other than a tragic backstory. That lack of accountability is something that bugged me slightly because it seemed like there’s a lot of major traumas being glossed over for the sake of being pretty clear about the ending and its direction.
That said, I do like the ending even if most of it is kind of predictable. Probably the best part is how the various pair-offs work out how to be with who they want but also who they need to be with (not always the same person). There’s a couple of unorthodox elements (but not totally unique) that mostly work because those directly involved are fine with it, and those who aren’t have a pretty good idea but the sense not to critique too much, unless it’s funny which it is in a few places. In the end, I do think the story found the right balance of serious and cute fun, even if it’s a tad uneven in some places.