[BOOK REVIEW] The Hardy Boys: Abracadeath Volume 11 by Scott Lobdell

Title:  The Hardy Boys:  Abracadeath Volume 11

Author:  Scott Lobdell

Artist:  Tim Smith 3

Genre:  Mystery / Adventure / Thriller / Crime


Year Published:  2007

Year Read: 11/12/2016

Series:  The Hardy Boys #11

Publisher:  Papercutz

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Fighting Scenes)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

I must admit that Scott Lobdell’s “The Hardy Boys” series is becoming an interesting series to read, although still not the perfect five star series I was expecting.  So, I had picked up another volume of this great series called “Abracadeath,” which is the eleventh volume in the series!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Frank and Joe Hardy help out their fellow Bayport High School classmate, Dia the Amazing, as she sets out to Castle Magique to become an apprentice of the famous magician the Great Marconi!  However, it turns out that there is something amiss in the castle as the Hardy Boys try to solve a case that involves a dog named Poppy going missing and they suspect that some of the competitors (Karnaq, Glom and Miss Tique) might have something to do with Poppy’s kidnapping.

Can Frank and Joe solve this case?

Read this book to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Scott Lobdell’s writing: Scott Lobdell’s writing continues to bring so much humor and mystery to the “Hardy Boys” series and I really enjoyed the fact that this volume focused more on magic since I was always interested in magic and fantasy as a whole and I think that bringing the magic elements in this volume really gave this series some variety in terms of what kind of genres they can explore in this series besides mystery.  I also like the fact that we actually get more focus on Frank and Joe’s classmates in this volume since in many of the “Hardy Boys” volumes that I had read, we rarely have stories that actually centered around Frank and Joe’s classmates and having this volume focus on Dia, a classmate of theirs who wants to become a magician, was a breath of fresh air for me in regards to this series.

Tim Smith 3’s artwork:  Tim Smith 3’s artwork was quite intriguing in this book, as it was similar to Paulo Henrique’s artwork, except that the characters’ angles are a bit sharper and the outlines are a bit softer than the usual bold outlines we get from Paulo Henrique’s artwork.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because I felt that the story was a bit all over the place as I was not sure about what the actual plot of the story was.  I was not sure if the plot was about the Hardy Boys searching for the dog Poppy or allowing their classmate Dia to fulfill her dream of becoming a magician. I would have liked it better if the mystery plot regarding both Poppy and Dia actually tied up with each other so that it would not feel like we are reading two different storylines that are going on at the same time.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hardy Boys: Abracadeath” is a great volume that is full of magic and mystery that fans of the “Hardy Boys” series will enjoy!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] The Hardy Boys: D.A.N.G.E.R. Spells the Hangman Volume 18 by Scott Lobdell

Title:  The Hardy Boys:  D.A.N.G.E.R Spells the Hangman Volume 18

Author:  Scott Lobdell

Artist: Paulo Henrique

Genre:  Mystery / Adventure / Thriller / Crime

Year Published:  2009

Year Read: 5/29/2016

Series:  The Hardy Boys #18

Publisher:  Papercutz

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Some Fighting Scenes)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

Well, it seems that I am on a “Hardy Boys” reading binge as I am checking out almost all of the “Hardy Boys” graphic novel series and I have stumbled upon another “Hardy Boys” graphic novel called “The Hardy Boys: D.A.N.G.E.R Spells the Hangman” which is a pretty interesting volume dealing with the spelling bee…in a murder plot!

What is this story about?

The story starts off with Joe Hardy having to go to the National Spelling Bee after Cassie London, the real spelling bee winner, was unexpectedly called to London for a violin performance.  It was then that Joe discovers that there is a murder plot unfolding at the Spelling Bee and he has to do the case solo due to Frank having to take their pet parrot to the vet.  Meanwhile, while Frank is taking their parrot to the vet, he discovers a bunch of burglars trying to steal dogs from the animal shelter to make money off of them and Frank goes out to stop the burglars from kidnapping the dogs.

Can Frank and Joe solve their respective cases?

Read this book to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Scott Lobdell’s writing: Scott Lobdell’s writing is as usual extremely interesting to read as I loved the way that Scott Lobdell wrote each character and the relationships between them, especially the relationship between Frank and Joe as it shows that they truly care for each other when comes to solving cases together.  I really loved the fact that we have a storyline where Frank and Joe are separated from each other and we get to see how both brothers manage their respective cases without the other.  I especially loved the fact that we get to focus more on Joe Hardy’s intelligence as we find out that he has participated in the Spelling Bee before and that he was known to be really good at the Spelling Bee and this story shows much more depth with the Hardy Boys’ intelligence in other areas besides the cases they get involved in.  I also enjoyed Joe’s interactions with Tam, as it seems that they have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on between them and I wished that this volume showcased that rivalry a bit more in the story.

Paulo Henrique’s artwork:  Paulo Henrique’s artwork is as usual fantastic to look at as the characters are beautifully drawn in the typical anime style and all the action sequences where the Hardy Boys fight off bad guys are extremely well detailed.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because, just like the previous volumes, the story seems a bit clunky as the ending was rushed and there was not enough build up leading to the conclusion of the case.  I would have liked this story more if they had developed the clues to the mystery a bit better and actually gave us some kind of closure to the case.  Also, I would have liked to see more moments between Joe and Tam as I felt that their relationship with each other would have made a pretty interesting story and it was a shame that we do not get to see more of their relationship in this volume.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hardy Boys: D.A.N.G.E.R Spells the Hangman” is a great volume starring the Hardy Boys and once again, I will try to seek out more “Hardy Boys” graphic novels in the near future!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Hardy Boys: The Deadliest Stunt Volume 13 by Scott Lobdell

Title:  The Hardy Boys:  The Deadliest Stunt Volume 13

Author:  Scott Lobdell

Artist:  Paulo Henrique

Genre:  Mystery / Adventure / Thriller / Crime

Year Published:  2008

Year Read: 4/7/2016

Series:  The Hardy Boys #13

Publisher:  Papercutz

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Some Fighting Scenes)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

Here I am again and I have once more picked up another volume in the “Hardy Boys” graphic novel series, which is called “The Deadliest Stunt,” the thirteenth volume in this series! Even though this still is not the five star “Hardy Boys” graphic novel that I am looking for, it was still a fun read from this interesting series!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Frank and Joe Hardy are asked to go on a mission that involves assisting a famous female stunt performer as she goes on to enter an international competition that decides the best female stunt performer.  Unknown to both Frank and Joe, it turns out that Lindsay Rider, the female stunt performer that they are supposed to look after, is actually an American Teen Against Crime agent (A.T.A.C) just like the Hardy boys themselves and Frank and Joe are actually her backups!  Now, all three A.T.A.C. members must solve the case that involves a contestant from the competition actually smuggling diamonds into America before it is too late!

What I loved about this story:

Scott Lobdell’s writing: Once again, Scott Lobdell’s writing continues to impress me as the characters are extremely well written and the case was pretty interesting to read about!  I loved the fact that in this volume, Scott Lobdell focused on a female character who turns out to be an agent on the same team as Frank and Joe and it was interesting seeing a female character become a part of the action in this series since it adds a bit of diversity, in terms of having more female protagonists, to this series.  Frank and Joe’s portrayals in this volume continues to amaze me as Frank is still shown as being the more level headed of the brothers while Joe is shown to be more eager to jump into action without thinking and I just loved their brotherly banter with each other as it was entertaining to read!

Paulo Henrique’s artwork:  Paulo Henrique’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as the action sequences are done extremely well, especially during the scenes where the female stunt performers were performing various tricks, such as jumping off of high buildings and smashing down bricks in the process!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Now, the reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because once again, I felt that the ending of this story felt a bit too rushed.  There were many scenes in this volume where the details to solving this case were not developed very well and it felt like they just threw in a culprit out of nowhere without mentioning about this culprit prior to the events in this story.  I would have liked it better if the clues to this case were better developed and were not rushed out at the last second just to solve this case in a matter of seconds.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hardy Boys: The Deadliest Stunt” may have felt a bit rushed at certain points of the story, but it was still quite an enjoyable read for this series!