The Stonekeeper book review

The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
Series: Amulet #1
Published by Graphix on January 1, 2008
Pages: 192
Goodreads

Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a giant robot---and two ordinary children on a life-or-death mission.
After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.
Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

I picked up The Stonekeeper because I thought the art looked cool, and it was, but massive disclaimer I was WAY too old for this book and the plotline. I found it to be overly predictable and full of too much drama for my liking. I wish I had been able to like the characters more and been able to connect to the story but I thought that a lot of stuff happened with very little explanation. I would have loved to have more of a connection with both the world and the people in it, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I can see how if I was younger this book might have been just enough to entertain me.

For me, the characters in The Stonekeeper were a little less than two dimensional. I could see what was going to happen a mile away and it annoyed me with how predictable it all turned out to be. I really wanted there to be something fun or exciting that would draw me into their individual stories, but there wasn’t and for that reason it made the entire story feel as though it was lacking. We follow Emily and Navin as they set out to save their mum from an evil beast and we get to come along for the ride. I feel as though this was their moment to shine but I think they struggled to hold their own against everything else that happened and the lack of explanation for everything.

The best bit of The Stonekeeper for me was definitely the art, it had a really whimsical look about it and the edges were soft and the landscapes were beautiful. This book is definitely aesthetically pleasing and I was glad of that because that’s what made me carry on reading the book, even when I wasn’t sure whether I was going to finish it or not.

I just think the biggest problem I had with The Stonekeeper was definitely the lack of development and how much missing potential there was all the way through this story. There was so much that could have been done and just wasn’t. I wanted to learn so much about the world, and the magic system and who was who and why all this was happening but I just feel like that was all left out and what was left was just a little bit hollow. It would have been okay if the characters had been able to carry the story but they weren’t much better, which was a real shame.

I don’t think I would recommend The Stonekeeper, I wasn’t a huge fan and I won’t be carrying on with the series, which is a little bit of a shame if I’m honest. I thought I had managed to find a new easy read to make the book slumps past just that little bit faster!

What are some of your favourite graphic novels? I am always on the look out for a new type of book to read and I have never really dived into this kind before!