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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this would be cute and fun, and it managed to be even better than I expected. I thought the level of detail in the artwork was perfect for the style of story, and I loved how colorful the illustrations were. I would be so down for a whole series of this story, it would be fantastic animated as well. Highly recommend if you liked Danny Phantom, but wanted there to be more realism and rounded characters for the ghosts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Slavery
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is a wonderful graphic novel! The art style is beautiful, and I love everything about it. Chelsea has gorgeous hairstyles throughout the book; each setting and background image is lovingly crafted and adds to the story's character; facial expressions are vibrant and humorous, maintaining a perfect balance between realism and playful exaggeration; the non-human characters (cats and horses) are just as lovely as the humans in terms of design and motion; and the entire story is printed in full color.
As for the story itself, the writing quality is just as strong as the artwork. Each character has a unique personality and appearance, and the world feels bigger than what we see on the page. I especially love Chelsea's family dynamic: It makes sense that her parents got divorced, and I appreciate what we see of each parent's profession and how they simultaneously complement and contrast with one another. Chelsea's dad is an endearing combination of well-intentioned and oafish, in the way that dads often feel when you're a teenager.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
I adore ghost stories, although I can be picky when it comes to their conclusions. More often than not, ghosts are expected to move on or die a second time, and sometimes I just want a ghost to stay put in the narrative. "Ghost Roast" strikes an interesting chord with me, because we see ghosts forcibly evicted from their afterlife through human machinery, but we don't get the usual scene of the living protagonist letting her dead friend "move on." I'm not upset that Oliver is still haunting the house where he died, but I wouldn't have objected to a peaceful and cathartic moving on scene with him and his aunt, similar to the one in Roshani Chokshi's "The Spirit Glass."
My main reservation with this graphic novel is that we don't talk enough about the afterlife the characters witness. What happens to the ghosts that are sucked up by ghost hunting equipment? Is there a place that most spirits go, when they don't linger in the mortal realm? Can ghosts stuck on Earth move on to that place once they've been left behind? I understand Chelsea's reservations when it comes to speaking frankly with her father about ghosts. Even if an open discussion would have solved many issues, knowing Chelsea's desire to appear normal and her hesitation to be drawn back into her father's ghost hunting business, it makes sense that she would be tight-lipped about her experiences. But I would've loved to hear a conversation between them that establishes some more lore and worldbuilding: What do we know about ghosts, and what are some possible explanations for their existence? I assume that the world of "Ghost Roast" is like ours, only slightly different, but I never got enough confirmation to be certain of that.
Still, this graphic novel is a delight. I love how the authors balance Chelsea's modern life with the history of New Orleans, addressing topics such as slavery and the Civil War in a way that doesn't feel anachronistic. Adding such a strong historical element to a ghost story is compelling, and I enjoy how the book ends with the dead characters' lives being shared publicly, through a coordination of direct communication with their spirits and physical evidence such as old correspondence and DNA testing. I also love Oliver's message that Chelsea needs to focus on living while she still can. For once, it's the dead character asking the living character to move on, and not the other way around. The ending is heartwarming and bittersweet without being too upsetting or heartrending.
As for the story itself, the writing quality is just as strong as the artwork. Each character has a unique personality and appearance, and the world feels bigger than what we see on the page. I especially love Chelsea's family dynamic: It makes sense that her parents got divorced, and I appreciate what we see of each parent's profession and how they simultaneously complement and contrast with one another. Chelsea's dad is an endearing combination of well-intentioned and oafish, in the way that dads often feel when you're a teenager.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
I adore ghost stories, although I can be picky when it comes to their conclusions. More often than not, ghosts are expected to move on or die a second time, and sometimes I just want a ghost to stay put in the narrative. "Ghost Roast" strikes an interesting chord with me, because we see ghosts forcibly evicted from their afterlife through human machinery, but we don't get the usual scene of the living protagonist letting her dead friend "move on." I'm not upset that Oliver is still haunting the house where he died, but I wouldn't have objected to a peaceful and cathartic moving on scene with him and his aunt, similar to the one in Roshani Chokshi's "The Spirit Glass."
My main reservation with this graphic novel is that we don't talk enough about the afterlife the characters witness. What happens to the ghosts that are sucked up by ghost hunting equipment? Is there a place that most spirits go, when they don't linger in the mortal realm? Can ghosts stuck on Earth move on to that place once they've been left behind? I understand Chelsea's reservations when it comes to speaking frankly with her father about ghosts. Even if an open discussion would have solved many issues, knowing Chelsea's desire to appear normal and her hesitation to be drawn back into her father's ghost hunting business, it makes sense that she would be tight-lipped about her experiences. But I would've loved to hear a conversation between them that establishes some more lore and worldbuilding: What do we know about ghosts, and what are some possible explanations for their existence? I assume that the world of "Ghost Roast" is like ours, only slightly different, but I never got enough confirmation to be certain of that.
Still, this graphic novel is a delight. I love how the authors balance Chelsea's modern life with the history of New Orleans, addressing topics such as slavery and the Civil War in a way that doesn't feel anachronistic. Adding such a strong historical element to a ghost story is compelling, and I enjoy how the book ends with the dead characters' lives being shared publicly, through a coordination of direct communication with their spirits and physical evidence such as old correspondence and DNA testing. I also love Oliver's message that Chelsea needs to focus on living while she still can. For once, it's the dead character asking the living character to move on, and not the other way around. The ending is heartwarming and bittersweet without being too upsetting or heartrending.
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
A nice, lighthearted adventure. I liked the ghosty elements, as well as the setting - Hello, NOLA!
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really like it but I was really sad that her and Oliver didn’t kiss they were near inches from kissing. They would have been the cutest couple ever❤️❤️