Book Review: Wait Till Helen Comes (graphic novel edition)

Original story by Mary Downing Hahn. Adapted by Scott Peterson, Meredith Laxton, and Russ Badgett

A while back, I reviewed the original novel Wait Till Helen Comes, though when I first became aware of the title, it was as a graphic novel at a book fair.  So of course I had to check out the graphic novel version.

You can read my original review for a synopsis. The graphic novel was fairly true to the original. The characters were not quite what I pictured them, but that is usually the case. The scenery was true to the Maryland setting, and I liked that each scene has its own color scheme that works with the vibe of the scene. There is one artistic choice that I wasn’t too fond of. The little girl, Heather, is very annoying in the novel, and the artists did a good job of making her face look really mean and spiteful when she is being mean—and then gentle when she is with her father, who dotes on her too much (as he does in the book). However, in the story, we eventually are given details that reveal to the reader why Heather is acting that way, and it adds a level of sympathy toward her. It was difficult for me to feel any sympathy for her with her face looking so nasty toward the other two kids in the graphic novel.

That said, I enjoyed the novel better—my imagination is much scarier than artwork, usually—but I would recommend the graphic novel version for reluctant or visual readers.