The Misadventures of Dreary & Naughtyby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 4 The Devil's daughter and Death's son have a rough life attending a human high school, and their parents seek revenge when things go too far.I like that this book exists. It's nice to see a book of this kind of moral topic done in a gothic fashion. I just wish it was better. Dreary is fairly easy for "different" / "outcast" / "emo" / "gothic" (etc.) to identify with. He's artistic and an introvert. And he kind of "hides" in his clothes. None of this makes him an overly interesting or great character in this book. I can't identify with Naughty at all. She's "pretty and sassy and slim" according to the first page of the story, though I think her empty eyes make it even harder to identify with her (at least Dreary's eyes are shaped to show his sad nature). I appreciate her perspective of herself and the way she chooses to view the reactions of those around her, but she seems very superficial. The actions taken by their classmates are so extreme, I can't identify with that either. It's very much the mob mentality (complete with torches) made cliché in many a monster movie. Then, the parents take pretty horrible revenge, which makes it hard to see the lesson in morality and tolerance we're supposedly supposed to get out of this. What lesson did Dreary and Naughty learn from suffering through all that just for their parents to swoop in and "handle" things? The story suffered from more than just plot issues. The writing attempts to tell this story as a type of rhyming poem. I say attempts because, more often than not, it's overly forced. Some lines don't make any sense. Some are just cringe-worthy attempts at rhyming or poetry in general. The art's not bad. Each open set of pages has text on one page and a single art illustration on the other. The images often convey humor and general life-happenings that the text glosses over or doesn't hit on at all. I get a much better sense of the plot and general actions from the art, so much so that it could stand on its own and be at least a good a read as it currently is. The art keeps the review score from totally plummeting. The book is hardbound with quality paper, though I wouldn't pay $14.99 for it. Written: February 6, 2014
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