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dembury's review
2.0
This is so messy. The art was pretty much the only aspect I liked about this story. The writing was poor and cliché, the plot felt like a Stine rip-off more than an original, and the characters were incredibly bland. I know I'm above the target age range, but I truly don't know how much a middle-grade reader would actually like this either. "Just Beyond" is weak storytelling and just not entertaining.
geekwayne's review
2.0
'Just Beyond: The Scare School' by R.L. Stine with art by Nichole Matthews and Kelly Matthews is a graphic novel for young readers with a spooky story. What could be more scary than school?
Scare School has a name that no sane parent would send their child. It's named after a mysterious headmaster. My review copy was missing the beginning of the story, so my story began with three kids in weird clothing being pursued down a hallway by scary creatures named droggs. They manage to escape into a school assembly. We then follow a story with some different kids and that's where the story manages to come together.
It's a confusing beginning to the story, but all gets explained for patient readers. The art is passable, but I found it confusing when it changed the story perspective as well. Overall, it doesn't seem all that scary, but I have been out of school for quite a few years. It could be a fun read for a reluctant reader.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Scare School has a name that no sane parent would send their child. It's named after a mysterious headmaster. My review copy was missing the beginning of the story, so my story began with three kids in weird clothing being pursued down a hallway by scary creatures named droggs. They manage to escape into a school assembly. We then follow a story with some different kids and that's where the story manages to come together.
It's a confusing beginning to the story, but all gets explained for patient readers. The art is passable, but I found it confusing when it changed the story perspective as well. Overall, it doesn't seem all that scary, but I have been out of school for quite a few years. It could be a fun read for a reluctant reader.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
harrietj's review
1.5
Disappointing. I'm a huge Goosebumps fan for life, but this fell really flat, and the art did nothing for me. RL Stine was never at his best doing sci fi and it shows here.
Points for mentioning the characters' shoes thudding on the ground - classic Stine phrase, and he uses it twice in this story - and a typical Goosebumps-style ending.
Points for mentioning the characters' shoes thudding on the ground - classic Stine phrase, and he uses it twice in this story - and a typical Goosebumps-style ending.
hellocookie's review
3.0
I’m giving this three stars for the art - the story unfortunately doesn’t do much for the graphic novel medium. Stine approaches the story too much like he’d approach writing a regular novel and it doesn’t entirely work. Without the room to properly explain big, over-the-too ideas, the concept gets lost and makes for a difficult read.
rdyourbookcase's review
2.0
I didn't like the art, nor did I like the story. I don't think that middle-grade students will be scared or impressed by Just Beyond. The ending was classic RL Stine, which saved it from getting just one star.
jagussow's review
5.0
Fun running man sci-fi story from RL Stine. Not what I expected but fun with great art
lblong14's review
4.0
I haven't read many graphic novels before. This one was very short, but oddly I want to see what the other 3 books are about (I say oddly because there wasn't much to learn from this first book in the series).
abookishkat's review
2.0
2.5 stars. I enjoyed reading this story for the most part, but there were things that didn't make sense and so many questions left unanswered. And the voiceovers were often unneseccary since the action was being shown.
labedzla's review
4.0
Pretty good for a kids book. I probably would have loved this when I was in 5th/6th grade (I read tons of R. L. Stine at that age)