Average Girl Reads

Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale

On the TBR list?: Yes, since Dec 2009
Genre: graphic novel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Shannon Hale is one talented dame. I am accustomed to reading work by authors who stick to one genre or age group, but she has written for adults, young adults, and middle schoolers. She's written romances, fantasies, and graphic novels. For all I know, she's working on a cookbook next!

Calamity Jack is a follow-up to the superb Rapunzel's Revenge and I found it just as delightful. It gives the reader some background on Jack before he joined up with Rapunzel in the first book. As you may have expected, the Hale trio take the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale and give it the action-hero treatment. As a bonus, they throw in some romance and a self-esteem lesson, too.

I say hand this to your 13-year-old, especially if she is a reluctant reader like mine, but don't forget to read it yourself when she's done. Just a warning: the gorgeous full-color panels may make it difficult to go back to reading the black-and-white graphic novels that are more common in this genre!

View all my reviews >>