Bea Reviews The Mystery of the Moon Tower by Francesco Sedita & Prescott Seraydarian and Illustrated by Steve Hamaken

Series: The Pathfinders Society #1
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Viking
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Format Read: Print ARC
Release Date: April 21st, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
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Blurb from goodreads:

Summer camp just became a whole lot more interesting when five curious kids accept a mysterious project: work together as a team to uncover a series of strange clues, reveal a secret path—and follow its twists and turns to a legendary treasure!

Join in the fun in this lively, clever debut graphic novel sure to appeal to fans of the Last Kids on Earth and Lumberjanes series.

Kyle is a new kid in town who likes to draw. Vic is a cool cheerleader who’s secretly a math whiz. Quiet Beth is a history buff, while goofball Harry likes performing magic tricks, with the help of his patient wingman, Nate. Five kids unlikely to form a team, for sure.

But then they’re thrown together at summer camp, where they watch a grainy old movie about the history of their town, Windrose, and one of its illustrious citizens of a bygone era: the intrepid explorer-inventor Henry Merriweather. He’s the one who established their camp. Merriweather’s Camp Pathfinders’ motto? Plus Ultra: more beyond!

The five kids soon find there is indeed “more beyond” in their pokey town with its weird weather and sudden geysers of smelly air. Deciphering a route of historical markers leads them to Merriweather’s old castle, which is lined with ornate, beautiful tiles in hallways that lead to secret rooms full of odd objects—and where time itself is warped!

Kyle, Vic, Beth, Harry, and Nate witness scenes from Merriweather’s past and realize his experiments and eccentricities are pointing toward a path—that could lead to the rumored lost treasure of Windrose.

This is the path our heroes are meant to follow, on a journey that will take them back and forth through time, through woods, and across waterways revealed by moonlight, right up to the looming Moon Tower itself—which holds Merriweather’s secret . . . and the treasure!

My Thoughts:

Okay, first of all, this book ends on a huge cliffhanger and pretty much nothing gets resolved. Some minor puzzles get solved along the way but not the big ones and the book ends mid-scene. That works for some readers but didn't work for me. I will not bother with the next book.

The book is a graphic novel, which I liked. The ARC I read was black, gray, and white but the final book will be in color according to the info on the back cover. I'd like to see this in color as the black, white, and gray tended to wash out details in the artwork. Also, I think two of the kids are meant to be brown skinned, as shown on the cover, but between the lack of color in the print and the sometimes blurry details, it was hard to be sure. I'm hoping the physical characteristics will be clearer in the final edition.

The characters are stereotypes - the new kid, the smart girl who downplays her intelligence, etc. There was no character development, which was disappointing. And the kids at the camp where they meet have a social ranking system where they rate each other A, B, C, D, F. Now, I don't know many kids the ages of the characters but maybe they act this way in real life? But is that really something we want to be encouraging? On that note, the book is free of swearing (probably not realistic), and violence, both of which should make parents and teachers happy. Tween readers, eh, remains to be seen.

The storyline, after a confusing beginning that seems to jump around in time, settles into a treasure hunt, a mission to save their camp, and a search for clues about the town and camps' founder, Henry Merriweather. The story dragged despite the addition of a little time travel, and as I said, it ends on a cliffhanger with nothing resolved. I was mildly invested in the story but not enough to read more.