  | Are you afraid of the light? (Black Sand Beach) Author: Fairgray, Richard | |
| Price: $19.08 | ||
Summary:
Twelve year old Dash and his best friend Lily are spending the summer at Black Sand Beach, where Dash's family has a house. But nothing is as it seems from the beginning. The beach house is a shack, and Dash's weird relatives are there. But more alarming is the zombie ram that crashes through the front yard. And the ghosts that call out to Dash from the lighthouse. In graphic novel format.
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Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (03/01/20)
School Library Journal (03/01/20)
Booklist (04/15/20)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 03/01/2020 Gr 3–5—A boring summer at the beach turns into a chilling otherworldly adventure. Dash and his friend Lily head to Black Sand Beach, where Dash's family owns a cabin. Dash is less than thrilled, but Lily thinks the house and eccentric family members are great, especially spirited cousin Andy and prankster Aunt Lynne. When Dash hears voices calling his name and sees a light in the long abandoned lighthouse, he, Lily, and cousins Andy and Eleanor head out to investigate. When they arrive, they become trapped inside the lighthouse and an ocean full of shipwrecked ghosts appears. Mysterious happenings continue when the neighbors need to run their cows (which are in fact paranormal creatures—though everyone but Lily is oblivious to that fact) through the family's land. The multiple story lines don't all tie up perfectly, but the cliff-hanger ending is sure to have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series. Fairgray's bulgy-eyed cartoons are appealing, and his story and his artwork, relying on a palette of grays, blues, and purples, both strike the perfect note: creepy fun tempered by plenty of silliness. VERDICT Fans of Kier Graff's The Matchstick Castle and Ben Hatke's "Zita the Spacegirl" will adore this spooky series starter.—Ellen Conlin, Naperville Public Library, IL - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 04/15/2020 Black Sand Beach, where 12-year-old Dash and his best friend Lily are spending summer vacation, is creepy—not just because of Dash’s weird relatives, nor because of the dozens of ancient shipwrecks around the shore, and not even because there’s no civilization for miles around. It has more to do with the defunct lighthouse that shines at night and with the ghostly voice calling Dash’s name. Girding his failing courage, Dash—along with his cousins and sharp-witted Lily—manages to put the curse of the lighthouse to rest. And that, surprisingly, is when things really get creepy, thanks to a bizarre cow (yes, cow) that replaces Lily, and the journal they find that Dash wrote last summer . . . even though he wasn’t there last summer. In this launch title from new publisher Pixel+Ink, Fairgray keeps the humor high to soften some genuine spookiness and crafts a cast that readers will want to follow into future volumes. His art, reminiscent of the great, ghastly funny cartoonist Gahan Wilson, strikes that crucial balance as well. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
Booklist - 04/15/2020 - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
