Back of Book: 

Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a giant robot—and two ordinary children on a life-or-death mission.

After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.

Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The humble beginning of Kibuishi's hit graphic novel series "Amulet" starts with the tragic death of a parent and a move to a mysterious new house. 

I'm finally getting around to reading "Amulet," which is at least ten years overdue, but late is better than never. I must say, I wasn't one hundred percent sold on this series by the first volume, but I love Kibuishi's art style so much and I'm excited to see how this series progresses. 

I'm really digging all the robots and great-grandpa Silas' kooky magic house. Miskit seems pretty cool, and I got to give a shout out the facial expressions of this robot rabbit; they are truly great. 

My biggest gripe thus far is that it seems a bit cliché. The story starts with the tragic death of a parent, which leads to the family moving to a new house, which has some weird secrets to be discovered. Kid then finds magical object, mom gets kidnapped, kid has to save her. That is pretty much everything that goes down in the first installment, so nothing too exciting yet. 

Overall, I was satisfied with "The Stonekeeper," but I hope the series picks up pretty quickly. This most definitely seems like a volume to set up the rest of the story, so I feel that this will happen soon. I'm very excited to see what all the hype is about with this series. 

Back of Book: 

Emily and Navin's mother is still in a coma from the arachnopod's poison, and there's only one place to find help: Kanalis, the bustling, beautiful city of waterfalls. But when Em, her brother, and Miskit and the rest of the robotic crew aboard the walking house reach the city, they quickly realize that seeking help is looking for trouble... dangerous trouble.

Book Number: Two

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The second installment in the bestselling "Amulet" series! 

I found this one to be much better than volume one. Not a ton happens in this installment either, but we do see Emily coming into her powers as a stonekeeper and Navin gets pretty good at navigating the house. 

I really like the addition of Leon, the anthropomorphic fox person, as a character in this story. He has a little more depth than many of the characters due to him having some backstory with the evil elves and the corrupted Elf King. He also is a mercenary and master sword wielder, so I'm digging him as a character thus far. 

Overall, "The Stonekeeper's Curse" helped me better understand the world of "Amulet" and has me a bit more curious to where this series is gonna end up. Now, onto the next volume!

Back of Book: 

Emily, Navin, and their crew of resistance fighters charter an airship and set off in search of the lost city of Cielis. There they hope to find help from the Guardian Council's powerful Stonekeepers. It's a mission that Alledia's survival depends on, and time is running out—Emily's got to find Cielis before the Elf King finds her.

Book Number: Three

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The third installment in the acclaimed "Amulet" series! 

In the course of a book, the group has went from wandering around in a magical house robot to flying around in an airship; this series is truly progressing rather quickly. Once again, the additional characters that are added to the crew seem pretty cool, especially the gruff captain Enzo and the less serious Rico (who both happen to be cat people). 

In this volume, we also get way more lore into the history of the stonekeeper's as well as some deeper backstory into our secondary antagonists, Trellis and Luger. Giving some much needed history is adding a ton both to the world building experience and the overall vibe of the characters. 

My edition of this book that I read was missing quite a few pages towards the beginning of this graphic novel, so I most definitely missed a few things, but I eventually figured out what was going on.

Overall, I feel that "The Cloud Searches" added a ton of depth to the world of "Amulet" as well as the characters that inhabit it. Every installment gets better than the last, so I'm excited to keep digging deeper into this series. 

Back of Book: 

Emily and her friends think they'll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn't right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in fear. Emily is soon escorted to the Academy, where she's expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Council, a group of the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, an awful secret is slowly uncovered—a secret that, if left buried, means the certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

Book Number: Four 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The adventure continues in the fourth installment of "Amulet!" 

This volume was truly a blast to read. Between the suspicious sanctuary island, the elusive academy, and the Miskit and Cogsley side arc, I just found this one to be so enjoyable. We're also starting to get a wider cast of characters as well as more depth to the characters that are already a staple in the series. I'm really happy that each installment is starting to be more fleshed out as the series continues. 

Dagno is truly a gem. If you know, you know. I'm so excited to get more content from this little dude as the series progresses. And page 72? It's been quite some time since I've laughed that hard at an exchange between characters. 

Overall, I found "The Last Council" to be way better than the previous three installments. If the rest of the series can keep the same momentum, I'll understand why "Amulet" has so much hype. But for now, onto volume five! 

Back of Book: 

Emily survived the chaos of the Guardian Academy, but Max Griffin has stolen the Mother Stone. With it, the Elf King forges new Amulets that will give him the power to invade and destroy the nation of Windsor. Emily and her friends lead the soldiers of the Cielis Guard in a fight to stop him, but Max stands in their way. And when she seeks information from the Voice of her Amulet, she discovers that the Voice is much more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

Book Number: Five 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

The fifth installment in the famous graphic novel series "Amulet." 

"Prince of the Elves" is very backstory heavy. In this volume, we explore Max's childhood as well as more of Trellis' past. This raises more questions about who both these characters truly are and how far they are willing to push themselves to achieve their aspirations. However, neither Max nor Trellis are my favorite characters, so I wasn't super engaged with this installment in the series. 

The part exploring the mysterious Voice that emanates from the stones is interesting though, and I am intrigued to learn more about Emily's battle against it. Navin also got a bit more screen time in this volume, but he still didn't get to do anything too exciting. 

Overall, "Prince of the Elves" has been my least favorite volume thus far, mostly due to the heavy amounts of backstory. Hopefully what was divulged in this volume will be imperative later on in the series, but for the most part, I wasn't very intrigued by what went down in this one. 

Back of Book: 

Navin and his classmates journey to Lucien, a city ravaged by war and plagued by mysterious creatures, where they search for a beacon essential to their fight against the Elf King. Meanwhile, Emily heads back into the Void with Max, one of the Elf King's loyal followers, where she learns his darkest secrets. The stakes, for both Emily and Navin, are higher than ever.

Book Number: Six

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The thrilling sixth installment in the "Amulet" series! 

I really enjoyed "Escape from Lucien." The stakes are really high in this one, which made this book much more nerve racking than the previous books. Also, Navin's story finally takes center stage, which is something I have been waiting quite some time for. I like Navin more than I like Emily, so it was refreshing to follow his perspective for the majority of this book. 

Emily's perspective throughout this novel was also pretty interesting though. Emily, along with the other stonekeepers, investigate the mysterious Voice that inhabits their stones and the results leave the reader with some intriguing story bits. 

Overall, "Escape from Lucien" was another stellar addition to the "Amulet" world. I'm nearing the end of this series, so I'm interested to see how Kibuishi wraps it up in the next couple of books. 

Back of Book: 

Emily, Trellis, and Vigo visit Algos Island, where they can access and enter lost memories. They're hoping to uncover the events of Trellis's mysterious childhood—knowledge they can use against the Elf King. What they discover is a dark secret that changes everything. Meanwhile, the Voice of Emily's Amulet is getting stronger, and threatens to overtake her completely.

Book Number: Seven

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Volume seven of the famous "Amulet" series! 

I have mixed feelings about this one. I mean, it did set up a major problem that I'm assuming is going to be at the forefront of the rest of the series. But at the same time, I found this volume to pretty sad and a bit plot filler-esque. In my opinion, most of this installment just kinda felt like words on the page to get from where this book started to the major plot point involving Emily and the Voice. 

The parts featuring Navin, Aly, and and General Pil were quite entertaining though. I mean, they were working as chefs and waiters for a while, which was fun to read. And several people got slapped with a fish, so definitely the best scene in this book. 

Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of "Firelight," but I know that it contributed greatly to moving this story towards major events that will take the readers to the conclusion of "Amulet." I'm excited to see what the last two volumes entail.

Back of Book: 

Emily has lost control of her Amulet and is imprisoned in the Void, where she must find a way to escape the influence of the Voice. Meanwhile, Emily's brother, Navin, travels to Lighthouse One, a space station where the Resistance is preparing to battle the approaching Shadow forces that would drain planet Alledia of all its resources. Emily and Navin must be smarter and stronger than ever to ensure Alledia's survival.

The penultimate volume in the acclaimed "Amulet" series! 

Book Number: Eight 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

This volume was not it. The first one hundred pages were so boring to me that I can't even recall what happened. And the resolution to Emily's possession was such a let-down, as was the final showdown with the Elf King. At this point in the series, we know what lies behind the mask, but to have it all end so quickly with no chance for a climax was quite a bummer. 

Though I've enjoyed Navin and Aly's adventures in the past, the story line that followed them wasn't all that entertaining in this volume either, leaving little for me to root for as I read this book. 

My two takeaways from this book are: 1.) General Pil getting hacked and being forced to dance was pretty funny and 2.) I'm glad that Logi was present throughout this novel. 

Overall, I was very disappointed by "Supernova" and everything that occurred within it. What happened in this book could have been so interesting, but everything fell extremely flat. I hope that the final installment ends on a better note, otherwise I'll be very disappointed by the ninth book in the "Amulet" series. 

Back of Book: 

The highly anticipated, thrilling conclusion to Kazu Kibuishi's #1 New York Times bestselling series! After her confrontation with Ikol, Emily finally understands the stone's power and what she must do to defend Alledia from the shadows. As she travels to Typhon to help her mom and Navin, Prince Trellis returns to the Kingdom of the Elves to save his countrymen—and confront the fraud who has seized power in the absence of a king. The threat of darkness follows all Stonekeepers closely, and it will take the strength of both new friends and old foes to conquer it... and survive.

Book Number: Nine (Last Book) 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

The final installment in Kibuishi's famous "Amulet" series! 

Well, now that I've reached the final book, I suppose I can go into a bit more depth here. Unfortunately, "Waverider" was a pretty disappointing end to this series. I read this entire series in a couple of sittings, not over the years as they came out, so I probably have a very different perspective than many others. It's not as though any aspect of my childhood rested on this book, but I still felt disappointed nonetheless. 

One of the main reasons for this is how almost everything comes out of left field in this book. The true identity of Ikol, the secret society of kids, and the whole bit with Vigo at the end; it was all so random! Most of these things added very little to the story of "Amulet," especially if you take the entire series into consideration. The secret society ended up pretty much saving the entire universe, which is odd, because all of these characters (minus one) were introduced at the beginning of this novel. The whiplash of introducing so many new characters so late in this series was painful, and seemed so wasteful when there was already so many cool characters. 

Also, I was quite disappointed to learn that all of the animal people were cursed. I knew that Leon was, but I didn't really pick up on the extent of the curse. It kinda made me sad to see all these cool animal people reverted into humans due to the fact that I don't think it added anything to the series. 

The fact that the entire end segment of this book was done through a monologue told by Emily was also a bit of an odd choice. I'm not sure if it was the worst decision, but it seemed an interesting way to info dump at the end. It was a bit too telly (rather than showy) for me to feel satisfied with the ending, but it could have been worse. 

After finishing the series, I have very mixed opinions on the "Amulet" series. I really love Kibuishi's art style and his story brims with creativity, but I can tell he really struggled how to end such a long saga that was beloved by so many. I wasn't hooked after reading the first couple of volumes, but I really enjoyed the middle part of the series. I see the appeal to these graphic novels, but they certainly aren't my favorite by any means. 

Overall, "Waverider" was a pretty meh ending for a series such as "Amulet." There were some really questionable decisions made in this volume, and I don't think most of them benefited the series in the long run. I'm leaving this series with mixed feelings, but with a better understanding of the canon that is middle grade novels.