A review by ash_hernick
Joe Quinn's Poltergeist by David Almond

3.0

I enjoyed the story, though found it seemed to lack a full conclusion - although the protagonist's character arc seemed complete, the lives of those around him were still unfulfilled (though maybe that was the point?) I also found the art style initially jarring, though soon realized that the strange, almost unfinished illustrations worked in tandem with the story. The point of the story is to feel unsettled, and to sometimes to feel beauty in that discomfort, and I think the art portrayed this well while not leaning too heavily on just trying to be "pretty" or "ugly" for no reason. There were scenes where the art was beautiful and scenes where it was frightening without the style itself ever changing, and this offered a unique perspective on the message of the story itself; the duality that can be contained within one single thing.

Overall, I still feel like there were multiple unresolved plot points, although this can be wonderful for a book like "Poltergeist" I found that Almond grew too comfortable in leaving parts of his story unfinished. How is the reader supposed to come to a conclusion without any clues from the author? Was the Poltergeist real, or a metaphor, or both?