Graveyard Shakes

Graveyard Shakes
Laura Terry
Graphix/Scholastic, 2017
Grades 4-7
Graphic Novel

Sisters Victoria and Katia must begin life at a posh boarding school in order to avoid life on the farm being home schooled by mom. Older sister, Victoria, is desperate to fit in. She faces humiliation and embarrassment by her classmates, who make fun of her favorite hat and treat her shabbily. Victoria attempts to make friends by joining the soccer team and dragging Katia along to orchestra auditions. Wild-child younger sister, Katia, refuses to conform to the expected mold of the school. Her brilliant piano playing impresses the other kids, yet gets out of control and it becomes clear that she cannot be reined in to join the orchestra. Meanwhile, a little zombie boy, Modie, is being kept alive by his scientist father, who must feed him the soul of a human child every thirteen years. The thirteen years is up and Dad is sending out the local ghosts to help him locate a new victim. Modie knows that it is wrong, but he is powerless to stand up to his strong father. Modie's only friend is Little Ghost, who doesn't fit in with the wild prankster ghosts of the graveyard and the land below. Little ghost meets a new friend as Victoria is out searching for Katia in the graveyard on snowy winter night. Katia is in the church being wild with the evil ghosts, who bring her to Modie's father for the procedure. Victoria, Modie, and Little Ghost must work together to save Katia and stop this vicious cycle. Unfortunately, a sacrifice must be made, yet in the end the evil is defeated. Katia and Victoria at last find their place in the school environment. It is not the school life Victoria aimed for, yet they have friends and are at last happy.

New author/cartoonist Terry offers a fresh contribution to the current trendy genre of middle school problem graphic novels. Graveyard Shakes has a spooky twist that will potentially draw in a new audience. At its core, this story is a coming of age problem novel where the older sister learns to love herself and finds confidence and the young sister becomes a bit more mature and appreciative of her older sister. The spooky layer adds dimension to the story and makes the book more than just another coming of age graphic novel. It is deliciously eerie and will elicit shivers in the target audience. Little Ghost is more Casper than creepy, making it that much more heartfelt when he meets a tragic demise at the end. Moodie is a bit more unsettling and desolate, yet somehow heartwarming, and readers will feel sorry for him, hoping for a painless demise. The plethora of wandering ghosts are interesting and original. Terry obviously had fun creating them. They are not too scary, along the lines of the Disney Haunted Mansion ride, yet will freak out readers who scare easily. Kids who don't like scary stories will stay away from this book anyway once they see the cover. Kids who like a little scare in their stories will find much to enjoy in this original and shivery tale.The well-executed illustrations are all in full color and the panels scan easily. Terry relies more on the pictures telling the story and the text is light and used only to propel the plot. Reluctant readers will gobble up this title and it may attract new readers to the genre.