This is a fun story, and Zatanna's character will be very appealing to younger readers. I wasn't familiar with her beforehand, but I didn't have any trouble getting into the story.

I found Zatanna's story to be both engaging and delightful. As someone who enjoys Zatanna in the comics, I loved this reimagining of her as a young girl trying to rescue her dad and learn the strange truth behind her house. Her adventure is both cute and inspiring, and I think any young fan of magic and mystery would enjoy this tale.

I did eventually read Zatanna and The House of Secrets when I was able to get a physical copy. I very much enjoyed the story and the art. I would love to see this as a cartoon or maybe a even movie. I'm extremely happy Netgalley finally has an app so I can now read graphic novels with no problem downloading them. 💖

Zatanna and the House of Secrets introduces middle grade readers to a lesser known DC character, Zatanna. The book has a bit of a slow start but catches up when Zatanna discovers her magical heritage and races to find her father. There's really great world building within this book, the characters are likable and well developed. I enjoyed the combination of high stakes action and magical elements with our main character battling typical middle school girl problems.

I don't know much about Zatanna but this book was incredible for creative little minds. This is part of DC Ink's graphic novels for young readers. This allows young middle school readers to connect with a hero on a deeper level. A true gem on the instance of magic and it's existence. Zatanna is set on a mission that only she can save her father.
She is such a fun character to get to know. I will definitely be doing more research about her to see how this compares to her original form, but overall the underlying problems and story will be in the best interest of any middle schooler who needs an empowering story to read.

DC Comics does it again with this kid's book. Zatanna is not an especially well known character but she sure gets her due in this exploration. And there's no foreknowledge required to understand this plot. Cody introduces the characters and their world in an easily understood way. It's not an especially complex plot and there's certainly room to dig deeper into the relationship between Zatanna's family and the rest of the magical world. It's not a book that will lead the reader to a deep conversation but it's solidly entertaining.

So meant to do this review earlier, but life got away from me, as it does for one. Anywho, to the book!

This was a cute read and I really love the trend of graphic novels geared towards younger readers with female heroes. I'm not well versed in comics, so this is a great introduction to me of the character Zatanna. It feels age appropriate. The artwork was cute and funky and I liked the characters and the storyline.

3.5 stars, a solid 3 star read. Definitely recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and DC Entertainment/DC Comics for an eARC copy of this to read and review.

A fun, magical story about Zatanna discovering her powers and dealing with the Witch Queen and Witch Boy in the House of Secrets. I adored the library scene and the character Zatanna finds there. Zatanna's development, the ways she builds her confidence through the story, is terrific!

My only "complaint" is that the talking bunny had to be called a "familiar" which will put off some readers/families because of occult connections. I am not 100% familiar with Zatanna's full history, but I know one of the villains has a "familiar," so maybe that is part of the character's history and wouldn't be changed. But I feel like the bunny could have just been a magical talking bunny and left at that.

It was a lot of fun reading this graphic novel. We get to see Zatanna as a teen, as they are just finding out they have magical powers. Once her father turns up missing, the story really gets interesting. She meets Klarion, and ends up with an ally who might be able to help her find her dad. They run into all kinds of magical things together, and there are moments when it looks hopeless. If you are a fan of Zatanna then this is a graphic novel you will want to read.

<b>In our house of secrets, minutes can seem like hours, hours like days. </b>

Cute is one word to describe this.
Heartbreakingly cute in both words and artwork.
Zatanna lives in a house that I would DIE for. Magical and made of dreams, she resides with her father and a cute bunny named Pocus.

Zatanna knows her home life isn’t normal and that people in the neighborhood talk about her house which is dubbed the House of Secrets. It has never bothered her until she becomes excluded from cool events like dances after school.

Uhh, that probably was a good thing however. When Zatanna is invited to one that’s when she encounters the son of a witch at said party.

That’s when the secrets of the house are revealed.

This book surprised me. I went in expecting just your normal YA graphic novel but came out with something completely different and for that I’m happy. Zatanna is adorable and Pocus as a bunny sidekick was great.

The magical aspect was simple and great and the house was interesting and full of surprises. I felt that some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more but that is my only gripe honestly.

The artwork is gorgeous and so pleasant to look at. The colors draw you in immediately and you just want the story to go on and on.

I wish this was a series honestly rather than a one shot. That’s how much I enjoyed this.

Thanks very much to Edelweiss AND Netgalley for this copy of my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Zatanna and the House of Secrets, by Matthew Cody and Yoshi Yoshitani, highlights the wonderful foe we know as Zatanna. What I personally loved about this one is that Zatanna is a lesser-known hero from the DC Universe. A lot of younger teenagers might enjoy her because she deals with magic, there's so much to do with the story of who she is. Nonetheless, this one covers a great majority of it. Again, more centered toward middle school, but I would say about... high school would be the maximum, it gives what is necessary to get someone into the story of who Zatanna is. The art is similar to the other releases, it is quite childish, you shouldn't expect DC weekly-release artwork since that is not the demographic. The colors are quite eccentric, for the appeal of middle-schoolers, the bright greens, harsh reds, etc. They create a more "childish" aesthetic. The overall concept, for adults, is not exciting -- but if you see this as something that I would have loved to have when I was younger or for someone you love, this would be perfect! Overall, a fantastic addition to the "younger audience" graphic novels coming out.

Z's Origin Story

Zatanna is a lesser known, but still frequently encountered, character from the DC Universe, and this graphic novel for kids introduces her as a young girl, which is sort of fun and serves as an interesting entree to the DC pantheon.

We start slowly, with middle school angst, but not too far in Zatanna's Dad disappears in their magical house, and Zatanna, her familiar, Pocus, the slightly sarcastic rabbit, and an untrustworthy witch boy, have to quest through the house in order to find Dad. During the course of the search Zatanna learns about her family, her parents, and, importantly, herself and her magical powers. The action is clever enough, but the appeal, for me, was in the way Zatanna figured out who and what she is, and began to come into her own as a magician. There's some monologuing along the way to help middle grade readers, but no major info dumps. So, the whole adventure moves along crisply, clearly, and at a good pace.

The art was serviceable, but did not strike me as other than ordinary. Heavy lines, big blocks of color, no shading or depth, many panels just have a single background color. That's fine for an early reader graphic novel, and the characters are expressive enough to complement the dialogue and the action, but there was nothing especially fun, for me, about the drawing.

That said, this is a comfy, fast paced, and well structured and presented intro graphic novel, and strikes me as a magic/quest tale with real appeal and engaging characters. A nice 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 was given an advanced copy of Zatanna and the House of Secrets through Netgalley so that I could share my review with you!

Zatanna has not had the best time at school so far; the kids are mean, and her friends don’t seem to act much nicer. When she finally gets invited to a Halloween party, she is desperate to go, to prove that she is worth being friends with. Things don’t go quite as planned, though, when her father disappears to take care of an emergency, leaving her in charge of the house. Zatanna soon realizes that everything in the house (including herself) is more magical than she had ever imagined.

Matthew Cody has written a creative and relatable take on the Zatanna I have loved for so long! Her youthful sense of adventure and discovery were both refreshing, and made watching her discover her powers even more fun! I really enjoyed the fun and colorful style of Yoshi Yoshitani’s art, because I felt like it matched the tone of the story perfectly!

You can get your copy of Zatanna and the House of Secrets on February 18th from DC Comics!

My Recommendation-
Zatanna and the House of Secrets is a great pick for any young person looking to venture into the world of superhero graphic novels! As a middle-grade title, this book contains a positive message about discovering who you are and what you are capable of. I am an avid reader of comics ranging from middle grade to titles for adults, and I was absolutely delighted by this book!

We love these DC superhero graphic novels. Both of my girls flew through this one. Zatanna was smart and such a responsible and good guardian of the secret house. They loved the magic. They loved her as a character and hero and absolutely recommend this to their fellow readers. We consume graphic novels like crazy around here and love this DC Collection.

I love Zatanna! She's such a fun, amazing part of DC, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC for this new middle grade story of hers!

Quick Thoughts
-I love the family bunny—such an adorable character with a fun twist!
-The art is so fun and super cute. Lots of bright and saturated colors! I thought it was fun how the backgrounds sometimes faded away so that Zatanna's emotions were on full display. It makes her as a character super important.

Lasting Impressions

This story is everything! The plot is twisty and heart wrenching at times, but also a lot of fun. The characters that come into Zatanna's life have a lot of depth. Seeing her interact with her friends and middle school in general is so relatable, and middle grade readers will love her and understand her.

I loved seeing her relationship with her father as well, though I wish one emotional beat had been drawn out a little more, the rest of it was incredibly well paced (and fast-paced at that!)

Seeing Zatanna grow in character and depth and in her magic was really touching and emotional. Also, her magic is just so much fun! I've always loved the "backwards" way of it, so I was really happy to see that still here.

Overall Feelings

I really loved this new Zatanna story! It's fun and hilarious, with loads of twists and magic. I would definitely recommend it to any Zatanna fan and any magic fan in general.

A delightfully fun book for kids! Yet another great intro to a DC character for young readers. Zatanna is a character I’ve always wanted to know more about and I think readers will want to keep reading about her. The artwork is somehow bright and dark, perfect for the story. Super cute.

This graphic novel is packed with action and adventure. Zatanna is the daughter of a magician but has no idea the truth about her house. The book starts by jumping into her morning headed to school. Like most teens she is running late. On the way we meet her home schooled friend Benji and watch her try to defend him against some bullies. Zatanna has some questionable friends but also an adorable rabbit named Pocus.
Zatanna is at that in between point in her life. She knows she is too old for somethings, like trick or treating but isn't sure how she feels about other things yet like makeup. As she tries to figure out who she is she also realizes she may have turned some of her classmates red.
When a mother and son duo show up uninvited at her house the real story begins. The son steals a key off of Pocus and next thing you know Zatanna's house looks completely different. This book is for the person who wishes they had magical powers. Any child who is trying to find their place in this world will be able to relate to this story. Children ages 8 - 13 will enjoy discovering the mysteries in Zatanna house.

This was a fun book.

I've always liked Zatanna as a character in the DC Universe. In the adult universe she has a delightfully complex relationship with John Constantine, she weaves in and out of the Gotham City titles and works with almost all of the Bat Family and beyond, and, well, if her magic words weren't always backwards (I'm not the best at reading them), then she'd be close to the perfect character.

So, I definitely liked this book. Her mother has passed away and she lives with her father, a great magician. She's having a hard time at school though, and, she does have friends, but, at the beginning she's not totally great to them. And then she comes home and her whole life changes. She learns things about the house she lives in, and about her father and her mother, oh, and her bunny too.

As I said, a really fun book, and a really cool origin story for younger DC readers too.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment

I'm probably going to have to sell kids on this one because Zatanna is a lesser-known DC character for kids. Once I tell them it is about a kid who learns she has actual magic powers and lives in a crazy house, I think they'll snatch it out of my hands. I especially want to be able to book talk it next Halloween, as a lot of the action takes place on Halloween night!

Cute story. Of zatanna as a child with a bit of mystery and magic . Colorful engaging illustrations . Perfect for young readers or any fan of Zatanna