The Good Neighbors Book One: Kin Review

TITLE: The Good Neighbors-Book One: Kin
AUTHOR: Holly Black
ILLUSTRATOR: Ted Naifeh
PUB DATE: October 1, 2008 (Hardcover) October 1, 2009 (Trade)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Rue Silver is about to discover that her life isn’t at all what it appears to be. She returns home one day to find her mother missing — and her father blamed for her disappearance. Did he commit murder? Or is there another truth beneath it all?

As she did so masterfully in The Spiderwick Chronicles and her novels Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside, Holly Black creates a mysterious, dark world full of threat, romance, and illusion this time matched by the amazing imagination of graphic artist Ted Naifeh.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is the first time I have ever read a graphic novel. The closest I have ever come to this was comic books when I was a kid. I know that is nothing like this but after reading The Good Neighbors I have to say that I think I have found another genre of books that I am interested in reading and discovering.

I really enjoyed reading book one. It was a quick read (117 pages) and the illustrations were amazing. Even though the cover is in color the illustrations in the book are done in black and white.

Looking at Rue you realize she is a regular teenager (on the outside). She lives at home with her parents (her dad is a professor and her mother is your typical stay at home mom), goes to school, doesn’t have a care in the world,

“I don’t sweat stuff. Worrying just gives you wrinkle lines or stress hives or
an acid stomach you can’t soothe with a whole box of Tums.”

and dates Dale, the lead singer of a rock band. When they aren’t in school Rue, Dale, her friend Lucy and Justin, Lucy’s boyfriend have a weekend tradition of spending their time drinking coffee and then breaking into abandoned buildings that have a history and taking pictures.

She puts on a brave face and lets everyone things nothing bothers her, but then suddenly when her mother up and goes missing for three weeks Rue can’t handle it and begins to crack. Rue has always been different and could never really explain it but thinks she is loosing her mind. Rue sees and hears things. At first they use to be just be out of the corner of her eye, but lately Rue has noticed it happening more and more and right out in the open. Is she imaging things or is it really happening?

On the night they are out breaking into a building they go up to the roof and spot police cars at Rue’s house apparently one of her father’s college students has been found dead and the Police believe Rue’s dad killed her.

When her dad is arrest Amanda, who is a family friend offers to stays with her while her father is in custody. She tells Rue that everything will be okay. Rue knows that everything won’t be okay and she is determined to find out the truth about everything. She soon discovers that in uncovering the truth that it will change her whole world as she knows it.

Is Rue’s dad really a killer? What will Rue do when she discovers that her whole life isn’t what she thought it would be?

This book was provided for review by myself. I bought this book when I heard Holly Black was coming to town.