A Ghost Story Graphic Novel
Adapted by Scott Peterson, Naomi Franquiz, and Brittany Peer from the novel written by Mary Downing Hahn
A graphic novel adaptation of one of Mary Downing Hahn’s books that kids will love to read. For those students who are looking for something scary, this could be a book that they would enjoy.
Travis and Corey, brother and sister, are spending their summer with their grandmother because they were not invited back to the summer camp that they went to the previous year. They like to play pranks that sometimes go too far. The grandmother owns and operates an inn that is suspected to be haunted, but no one has seen anything in years. Travis and Corey come up with an idea to make the inn appear haunted again, only to awaken the spirits that were actually there.
Will they be able to handle what they have awoken and get things back to the way they were?
Reviewed by Nanette Warr, Librarian, Monroe Elementary
Review shared in September 2023
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 4-6
Just in time for Halloween! Adapted to graphic novel format from the original book by Mary Downing Hahn, this ghost story is recommended for advanced readers grades 4-6, but it’s a fun read even for adults.
Twelve-year-old Travis and his little sister Corey go to visit their grandmother for the summer. Their grandma owns a very old inn in the woods, thought by some to be haunted. While grandma attends to the guests, Travis and Corey plan a prank to create some excitement. They purchase some ghostly attire and, with the help of a flashlight, create a noisy spectacle outside the inn in the middle of the night. The guests and grandma are all awakened and everyone begins to talk of ghosts and hauntings. However, Travis and Corey get more than they bargained for when their prank conjures up the real ghosts that haunt the inn and its environs. These are not friendly ghosts. They are BAD! They start playing their own mean ghostly tricks on the staff, guests, grandma, and Travis and Corey. The plot takes several unexpected twists and turns as everyone tries to figure out who these ghosts really are and why they are so BAD.
The text contains a few examples of advanced vocabulary and features some dialect – e.g. “I went to the fuse box but afore I so much as touched it, the power come back. They been stirred up good and proper now.”
A fun, unpredictable, and GHOSTLY story!
Reviewed by Jalene Magee, Media Clerk, Redwood Elementary
Review shared in September 2023
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 4-6
All the Lovely Bad Ones: a ghost story graphic novel
Adapted by Scott Peterson, Naomi Franquiz, and Brittany Peer from the novel written by Mary Downing Hahn
Clarion Books, Harper Alley, imprints of HarperCollinsPublishers
153 pages
Release Date: August 29, 2023
ISBN: 9780358650133
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
