The story wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it. I was expecting a creepy ghost story; instead I got a teen existential crisis with a small pinch of creepy, and a dash of coming of age. This story was originally published in a collection by Almond, and it's an good story, not great, but it has its moments. What makes it shine is the artwork by Dave McKean- it captures the roiling emotions of a teenage boy very well, and adds impact to the tale. Together, the art and story make for a pretty good read.
I'm not sure what the publisher is thinking by marketing this as a "lively, hopeful graphic storybook." It's not really either of those. The main character is struggling with the death of his little sister, there's a drunk, atheistic priest who might or might not be shagging female parishioners, and then there's the angst. Not exactly the feel good that description wants us to believe this is. Nonetheless, worth a read.

#JoeQuinnsPoltergeist #NetGalley

A powerful marriage of words and images ignite this gripping exploration of loss, youth, family, society, and coming to understand the world around us. Frenetic, masterful images and thoughtful prose.

While watching his crush, Josephine Minto, playing tennis, his friend Joe Quinn comes along and tells Davie and another friend Geordie that his house in haunted by a poltergeist. Naturally, both boys are skeptical but curious. After all, Joe and his mother are known for making up stories. But Joe insists that the poltergeist is real and invites Davie and Geordie to come over for tea and see for themselves.

Sure enough, when they get to Joe's house, they see a broken window and bits of broken cups and plates all over the kitchen. While they are eating the chips that Mrs. Quinn serves them, a slice of bread with butter flies across the room, followed by more crockery. Geordie is convinced that Joe and his mother are making things sail across the room, and refuses to believe that there is a ghost. Davie, on the other hand, isn't so sure, and Mrs. Quinn is certain that he can also feel strange forces in the house.

Davie may be susceptible to her suggestions. His younger sister Barbara, with whom he was close, had died a few years ago and he's never really come to terms it that and, additionally, with his faith. And lately, he has been dreaming about Barbara and wondering whether her spirit could ever come back.

Later, Joe returns to the Quinn's house, bringing Father Kelly, an Irish priest who has already lost his religion, with him. Ironically, after spending time at the home of Mrs. Quinn, and despite his inebriated state and lack of faith, Father Kelly, manages to give to help Davie find some peace of mind when he tells him "There is not Heaven to go to. And no Hell...There's only us, and this...But what an usness and a thisness." Ultimately, Davie concludes that there is no poltergeist, but that "...the poltergeist is all of us, raging and wanting to scream and to fight and to start flinging stuff; to smash and to break. It is all of us wanting to be still, to be quiet, to be in love, to be at peace." Usness and thisness?

What do you think?

I first read Joe Quinn's Poltergeist in a book of short autobiographical stories by David Almond called Half a Creature from the Sea. I found it interesting, but now as a graphic novel, I find it even more so. It is a story about the existential angst of a teenager asking for answers to questions about life and afterlife, and Almond captures his inner turmoil so well. And leaves it to the reader to decide if Davie's conclusions are right, or maybe we each have our own conclusions about these questions.

I think, however, what really removes this book from being an exception short story in prose and puts it into the realm of wonderfully dark graphic novels are the illustrations. As you can see, Dave McKean's angular mix-media illustrations are as haunting and emotional throughout the book as is the illustration on the cover.

David Almond has always been a favorite of mind and this story, that borders on horror, has not failed my expectations one bit. The short story is worth reading (and re-reading as I recently did) and so is the graphic novel. The different formats almost make each one feel like a different story.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was an EARC received from Candlewick Press through NetGalley

**Disclaimer: I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Cover: Neil Gaiman's Sandman series comes to mind.

The art, style, and direction of the book/graphic novel is amazing. I would flip through this story just to look at the drawings. Plus, it helps that the art is so well done you understand the story without reading all the text.

As others have said, the subject matter in this story may not be appreciated by children or younger readers, but it provides an interesting perspective/reflection on grief.

"There's only us, and this.".... "I know that, Father.".... "But what an usness, and a thisness."

It's interesting that in the U.S. this book is blurbed as a "lively, hopeful graphic storybook" and in the U.K. it's described as "a dark, powerful and moving short story". I think it is a dark, powerful, and yet hopeful meditation, so I guess both publicists got it partly right.

Forget about Joe Quinn. He just gets the story started by telling Davie about the poltergeist in the Quinn home. Forget about the poltergeist; this isn't a horror or supernatural tale. This is Davie's story. Actually, Davie and the parish priest, (who drinks, smokes and bemusedly blasphemes his way through the story while serving as a foil and interlocutor for Davie's awakening.) Davie is a teen, in the honorable angry-young-men style, who plays football, daydreams about girls, fights with his pals, lounges about, and is respectful of his mother. But Davie's secret grief, (which is touchingly drawn out in conversations with his Mom), is the early death of his sister Barbara.

Davie's turmoil is the engine that powers the poltergeist. The poltergeist is the outward manifestation of Davie's state of mind. As other characters - Quinn, Quinn's Mom, the priest - deal with the poltergeist they are also dealing with Davie. The various interactions, and their results, vary from amusing, to violent, to unnerving, to touching, and ultimately to redemptive. Is there a God, an afterlife, any point at all? Well, there's us and this.

Almond is always good for a head trip, and is a kind if demanding guide. "Skellig" was mystical and William Blakey; "Angelino Brown" was all sweetness and light; "The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas" was antic and whimsical. This book wrestles with bigger issues, but does so with poetic precision.

I think the book would work as a short story, but it wouldn't have anywhere near the punch it gets from Dave McKean's artwork. It's jazzy and impressionistic and has the dark jangling intensity to emphasize and focus every word of dialogue. I've always enjoyed and admired McKean's work, but this volume is special. He doesn't just illustrate or complement the story, here his art is a narrative all alone that runs in harmony with the text. Where Almond writes of life's "darkness and its light", McKean shows us just that.

So, a marvelous and rewarding collaboration that works wonderfully, (in all the meanings of that word). An excellent find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I loved the story and I loved the illustrations.
I don't think this a book that can be appreciated by children but there are some interesting reflections about grief.
It's not an entertaining read but some good food for thought.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Perhaps because of Britain's headlong retreat into postwar shabbiness (except this time minus the consolations of the welfare state), there seems to have been a revival of interest in the phenomenon of the council house poltergeist. I'm not convinced David Almond has much new to add for his part - although there's something charmingly wholesome about the vices of the Catholic priest brought in for the exorcism, who seems to restrain himself to whisky, atheism and maybe knobbing adult parishioners, but is entirely fine to be left unattended with the child protagonists. No, the real attraction is Dave McKean's art. All these years on, those distorted figures and mixed media collages could never have the shock they once did, and I'm not convinced these would ever have been among his best and boldest work, but when he wants to depict a stifling summer suburb, you can feel the heat haze.

(Netgalley ARC)

None of the boys believe Joe Quinn when he tells them about the poltergeist at his house. Davie starts to believe when he goes to the house and sees plates, food, tea cups and just about anything else fly through the air mysteriously. He isn't sure it's a poltergeist...it might just be Joe or his mom throwing things, but he's still drawn to the story. Ever since his little sister died, Davie has been looking for some sort of meaning in things. Joe and his mom, a conflicted local priest, and a supposed poltergeist help Davie put his thoughts about the meaning of life, what might come after, and his dreams of the future into a more clear picture.

This story is a bit odd, but has a very deep meaning. I think perhaps the author is delving into his thoughts on his own life, emotions, and ponderings about existence. I found it very thought provoking and maybe just a little bit disturbing. The artwork by Dave McKean is wonderful!

All in all, a very thought provoking read. I enjoyed it! I'd be interested in seeing more by David Almond...and definitely would love to see more of Dave McKean's art! This book was not what I expected at all....but an enjoyable surprise! I'm very glad I read this! Coming from a former Catholic background, it brought back some memories and provoked some deep thoughts.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Candlewick Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Bad storyline, badly written and badly illustrated. I would steer clear of this one. My feeling was this book was a complete dud and the storyline didn't seem to go anywhere either.

I thought I'd like this one more than I did. If the artwork within had been more like what's on the cover, I think I would have. The inside, however, is mostly rough-looking drawings combined with a bit of photographic collage and painted backgrounds.

The story is also a little thin for me. The explanation for the poltergeist, while plausible, isn't that interesting. This book is more about the characters than the story, really.

This appears to be marketed as a "graphic storybook" for children, but it's really more of a short graphic novel for young adults. The themes are heavy, some of the plot points are rather mature, and the inclusion of local slang could make this a tricky book for younger readers.

I suppose I was expecting something more fanciful and supernatural, especially from this duo. I found it neither "lively" nor "hopeful", as was promised by the synopsis; it is instead rather dreary and gritty, with some fairly creepy behaviour on the part of the adults in the story. At its heart, Joe Quinn's Poltergeist is just a coming-of-age sort of story about the chaotic emotions of teenage boys.

Perhaps I'm just not the right audience for this one.

This book is clearly meant for British teens, which means teens in other areas may have a difficult time understanding some of the slang. The overall concept is interesting, but I found myself having a hard time getting into the story. At times, this was due to the infuriatingly inconsistent artwork. Sometimes, it seemed vivid, beautiful, and surreal. At other times, the faces were so oddly rendered and the backgrounds so devoid of anything interesting that it stuck out like a sore thumb.

There are definitely some odd things that happen in a book that's labeled as Children's Fiction. For example, a priest offers a young teen a cigarette, another priest smokes and drinks in front of teens, and several adults talk about having encounters with ghosts. One of the mothers even flirts in a sexual manner with a priest; once again, this happens in front of a young teen. The book also gets into a bit of theology and generally seems way too deep/heavy for kids, including many teens.

I did enjoy the frank discussions about atheism, the existence or non-existence of god, and the themes about grief, friendships, etc. But all in all, this book just didn't work for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

A visually arresting tale which explores grief in an interesting way. This won't work for everyone, but reflective readers will be rewarded in exploring this title. The cast presents white. Marketed for a young adult audience, but with good potential for adult readers, as well.

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me an ebook through NetGalley to review of Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist written by David Almond.

I really had high expectations for this book thinking it would be a fun horror style book but I really didn’t like this unfortunately, the story sounded like it would be about a poltergeist and though it featured a poltergeist it wasn’t really what the story was about. The story focused more on the boys relationships with each other and Davie dealing with the loss he had in his life and what he believed was real in life.

The characters felt unfinished and the story didn’t really make you care for any of them, the art work was very strange and at times had photographs added into the pages such as broken plates, bread and a cup of tea it was very odd. I also didn’t see that this should be listed as a children’s book some of the content in it seemed a bit grown up.

I am sad I didn’t like this book but it just wasn’t for me at all, others might enjoy this loads more and that’s okay.