Book Review: The Ghoul Next Door by Cullen Bunn, Cat Farris

The Ghoul Next Door, with text by Cullen Bunn and illustrations by Cat Farris, is a middle grade graphic novel. Eleven-year-old Grey lives in the legend-haunted New England town of Ander’s Landing, and he can’t help but feel like a pair of eyes is watching his every move. He discovers odd, gruesome bits and pieces from the graveyard that are left for him as gifts like art carved from bones or jewelry made from (hopefully not human) remains. Soon Grey is caught up in something bigger than he could ever have imagined.He finds himself drawn into a strange mystery involving a race of reclusive subterranean creatures—ghouls, the eaters of the dead! Turns out, his secret admirer is a ghoul named Lavinia. An unlikely friendship forms between them. The only problem is, their friendship breaks traditions—and the punishment is a fate worse than death.

The Ghoul Next Door is an entertaining graphic novel. The art style was nice, and I liked the lines but was not a big fan of the water color style for the coloring. The details were nicely done, and I thought the faces and highlights on hair and eyes for depth and dimension were very well done. I personally prefer a bolder, more solid style over the watercolor, but that is a matter of personal preference and not anything to do with the skill of the artwork involved, which I could still appreciate. I thought the story was well written, school and family moments were well done and I thought they felt realistic and true to character. There was a nice dose of creep, adventure, and mystery through the entire book. I liked it, and I think there are many middle grade and older readers that will really enjoy it. I had a little trouble getting invested in the story- but I think that was more because of the state of the world and some technical difficulties rather than anything lacking in the story.