Wanting to get in on the fun of sitting around, drinking tea, and discussing books, the Best Nephew in Australia (11) fished out his favourite graphic novels to send home with me. They are suspiciously pristine, to the extent that I was very concerned about reading them – the rest of us are tough on books, and he may be adopted (not really, Xan, that’s hyperbole for comedic purposes, I promise).
Amulet is a series of kids fantasy/horror graphic novels, and so far I’m really enjoying them. The artwork (also by Kazu Kibuishi) is – well, to me, right? I am a terrible artist and lack the tools to describe – great. Intricate and detailed, and the right sort of cool for 8-12 year old kids. There is a rickety old house that can stand up! There are elves with terrible sharp teeth!
After the death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to their Great Grandfather’s old house. It. Looks. Haunted. And, as it transpires, it kind of is. Their mother is almost immediately kidnapped by something with a lot of tentacles, and it’s up to the kids to track her down.
Emily picks up the titular Amulet, and becomes the Stonekeeper. This is both a blessing and a curse – the stone gives her powers, but like any power, it can be a corrupting influence if misused. With the help of a few cool robots (including a bunny and a house robot that reminds me of Grr from Invader Zim), and, eventually, a fox (that reminds me of Disney’s animated Robin Hood)(see? Not great with artwork), they’re off to save the world from the Evil Elves.
The plot zips along at a cracking pace, and I can see The Best Nephew in Australia coming back to these over and over and getting more from them by way of themes each time he does. They’re really well done, and I’m due to go pick up books 3 and 4 this afternoon.