Parents' Guide to Read at Your Own Risk

The overall style of this middle grade horror graphic novel is sparse but spooky in tone. Going for a kind of skeletal look, all the characters in Read at Your Own Risk look gaunt and creepy, with big black eyes similar to the numerous sketched skulls. But these are just the "drawings" of Hannah, whose journal this book turns out to be. Deciding to write out her experiences of being cursed, her diary works as a kind of "found journal" story, wherein the reader discovers, along with Hannah, what exactly is going on with her curse. What is the backstory of the attic? Why did 3 other students perish years earlier? Can Hannah trust speaking with this evil spirit at all? Who else knows about the curse?

The horror can be hit or miss, however, as most of it leans on body horror images with bugs, teeth falling out, bleeding noses and gums, and other mostly imagined icky visuals having to do with insect, worms, or idea of something under your skin. The existential horror of being cursed, however, might strike some readers (Hannah's situation openly means that she only has a set number of days before she dies to figure out what's going on). Also, the supporting cast here are very flat as characters, and they aren't much help to Hannah either. This isn't a story where Hannah leads a quirky group of friends; instead, Hannah's friends only show up here and there to get her in trouble. Some readers might also feel like the ending's logic is a bit hard to follow. Still, the core mystery here is compelling, and budding fans of horror will likely enjoy this as an intro to the genre.