Name: The Bhootbusters of Himmatnagar (A Graphic Novel)
Author: Aditi Rao
Illustrator: Nandita Bose
Publisher: Scholastic India
Length: 142 pages
Ages: 8/9 years+
It wasn’t always called Himmatnagar — the land of the braves. The name used to be Phattupur — the village of cowards.
Three adults have died under mysterious circumstances. They don’t appear to have been murdered. There are no obvious clues, no apparent motive, nothing that quite explains what happened. Except for one rather odd detail: all three were good friends, all three met the same fate, and beside each body was an éclair—a rather suspicious choice of chocolate, especially in a village where éclairs aren’t exactly everyday treats.
Naturally, the village is terrified.
So terrified, in fact, that Biru the potter faints whenever anyone asks him a question.
Enter four children who decide that someone needs to get to the bottom of this.
What follows is a stranger who seems to be luring children with éclairs, a tantrik, a trip into the cemetery, and, possibly, a ghost. There’s enough here to keep young mystery lovers turning the pages and wondering what exactly is going on.
But do the children solve the mystery?
Of course they do. That’s not the important question. What’s important is: Is it worth our while to read how they do it? The sense of intrigue is familiar, and the pacing develops well too. Considering the book is for lower middle grades, the stakes are appropriate too, which will not leave your child too scared. It’s a gentle, comfortable read that doesn’t take many risks.
The story is represented in graphic format. With an expert like Nandita Bose working on this, the panels, the layouts, the speech bubbles everything worked well for purposes of reading. Nandita’s visual style is simple and consistent throughout. Readers who love lush, detailed visuals may want more.
If your child likes graphic novels with a touch of mystery and pinch of horror, pick it up.
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CLICK & BUY NOW!Disclaimer: Mandira is part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc. She is the author of the award winning book Children of the Hidden Land. Her second book Muniya’s Quest for middle graders is simply brilliant! Her latest release, Off With Their Heads is a Dystopian Novel Set in an AI-driven World.
