October 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-Charlie returns to the town of Hurricane to catch up with some of her old friends, but all they can talk about is the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant that Charlie's father owned and that they enjoyed as kids. Lingering trauma from a series of unsolved murders mixes with everyone's relatively sunny nostalgia. Charlie's seemingly scrambled memories suggest there's more to the cold cases than everyone believes. This comics version of the novel adaptation of the jump-scare video game series offers a few compelling leads, including a serial killer, anthropomorphic robots gone wrong, and supernatural intervention. Unfamiliar readers will place their bets on the true cause of everyone's unresolved grief, while fans of the games will have the ending pegged well in advance. Schröder's illustrations escalate the horror, establishing with wide, clear angles the decrepit mall that's been built around the abandoned pizza place. In the latter half of the story, characters are stalked down hallways and behind curtains in more tightly framed panels. A couple of characters bleed from injuries, with another dying on the page. Charlie and her friends, while visually distinct, lose the plot to the animatronic terrors, who take over as the main attractions. A chaste romance between Charlie and her friend John serves as little more than a plot device. The scares are tween and teen appropriate, culminating in a standoff worthy of viral urban legends. VERDICT Worth a night staying up reading by flashlight, whether you know the games or this is your first time at Freddy's.-Thomas Maluck, Richland Library, SC

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2019
Old friends find that nostalgia isn't the only thing lurking in their childhood stomping ground. Charlie and her friends gather in their small hometown of Hurricane to honor their deceased friend, Michael, in this graphic-novel adaption of the 2016 novel by the same name inspired by the video game franchise. Previously owned and operated by Charlie's father, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been subsumed by the construction of a mall. It was a primary source of entertainment for her and her friends--as well as the site of Michael's mysterious disappearance. Yet when the friends break into the pizza parlor to reminisce and explore, they find that in addition to abandoned animatronic characters, arcade games, and rides, their childhood playground holds dark forces looking for prey--and disturbing memories from the past begin to intrude. The full-color art is simple, with ample white space, and the illustrations are effectively creepy, with variations in the layout of the panels. However, readers may have trouble tracking the large cast of characters and their relationships, especially with several flashbacks that reveal past traumas. The action-packed and occasionally gory plot will engage, but abrupt transitions and a too-quick resolution take readers out of the world of the story. All main characters are white, with the exception of one who is black. Will find a ready readership among fans. (Graphic horror. 12-16)

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October 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-Charlie returns to the town of Hurricane to catch up with some of her old friends, but all they can talk about is the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant that Charlie's father owned and that they enjoyed as kids. Lingering trauma from a series of unsolved murders mixes with everyone's relatively sunny nostalgia. Charlie's seemingly scrambled memories suggest there's more to the cold cases than everyone believes. This comics version of the novel adaptation of the jump-scare video game series offers a few compelling leads, including a serial killer, anthropomorphic robots gone wrong, and supernatural intervention. Unfamiliar readers will place their bets on the true cause of everyone's unresolved grief, while fans of the games will have the ending pegged well in advance. Schr�der's illustrations escalate the horror, establishing with wide, clear angles the decrepit mall that's been built around the abandoned pizza place. In the latter half of the story, characters are stalked down hallways and behind curtains in more tightly framed panels. A couple of characters bleed from injuries, with another dying on the page. Charlie and her friends, while visually distinct, lose the plot to the animatronic terrors, who take over as the main attractions. A chaste romance between Charlie and her friend John serves as little more than a plot device. The scares are tween and teen appropriate, culminating in a standoff worthy of viral urban legends. VERDICT Worth a night staying up reading by flashlight, whether you know the games or this is your first time at Freddy's.-Thomas Maluck, Richland Library, SC

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.