Black Sand Beach: Are You Afraid of the Light? (Black Sand Beach #1)

by Richard Fairgray (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

This summer vacation is anything but a dream trip. The first book in a spooky, witty new graphic novel series from bestselling Blastosaurus creator Richard Fairgray, perfect for fans of Gravity Falls, Rickety Stitch, and Fake Blood.

Twelve-year-old Dash and his best friend Lily are spending the summer at Black Sand Beach, where Dash's family has a house. Lily can't understand why Dash isn't more excited. Three months of surf, sand, and sun. It should be a dream!

But Black Sand Beach is not that kind of vacation spot.

The house is a shack, and all of Dash's weird relatives are there. More alarming is the zombie ram that crashes through the front yard and the eerie voices calling out to Dash from the lighthouse--a lighthouse that hasn't been operational in a hundred years. . . .

So Dash has a new plan for his summer vacation. . . . Survive.

Full of unexpected twists, Are You Afraid of the Light? begins a delightfully creepy graphic novel series that readers will devour. (But keep a flashlight handy.)

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Kirkus

Creepy, bizarre, and compelling.

ALA/Booklist

Fairgray keeps the humor high to soften some genuine spookiness and crafts a cast that readers will want to follow into future volumes.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5--A boring summer at the beach turns into a chilling otherworldly adventure. Dash and his friend Lily head to Black Sand Beach, where Dash's family owns a cabin. Dash is less than thrilled, but Lily thinks the house and eccentric family members are great, especially spirited cousin Andy and prankster Aunt Lynne. When Dash hears voices calling his name and sees a light in the long abandoned lighthouse, he, Lily, and cousins Andy and Eleanor head out to investigate. When they arrive, they become trapped inside the lighthouse and an ocean full of shipwrecked ghosts appears. Mysterious happenings continue when the neighbors need to run their cows (which are in fact paranormal creatures--though everyone but Lily is oblivious to that fact) through the family's land. The multiple story lines don't all tie up perfectly, but the cliff-hanger ending is sure to have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment of the series. Fairgray's bulgy-eyed cartoons are appealing, and his story and his artwork, relying on a palette of grays, blues, and purples, both strike the perfect note: creepy fun tempered by plenty of silliness. VERDICT Fans of Kier Graff's The Matchstick Castle and Ben Hatke's "Zita the Spacegirl" will adore this spooky series starter.--Ellen Conlin, Naperville Public Library, IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

With a large cast and plenty of surprising developments, the book plants seeds for potential future story lines, even as layers of its mystery are peeled away to ensure immediate satisfaction. Funny and playful but also creepy and intriguing, Black Sand Beach: Are You Afraid of the Light? is an entertaining graphic novel that establishes a rich world of possibilities and impossibilities.—Foreword Reviews

This graphic novel was designed with digestible chapters allowing for good breaking points in the stories. . . . This first title in a new graphic novel series features just the right mix of Gravity Falls and Goosebumps that kids will love.—School Library Connection

I loved the humor and weirdness of it. . . . the characters are so confident in this world that you take comfort in how they saunter through it.—A Fuse #8 Production
Richard Fairgray
Richard Fairgray is a writer, artist, and colorist, best known for his work in comic books such as Blastosaurus and Ghost Ghost, and picture books such as Gorillas in Our Midst and If I Had an Elephant. As a child he firmly believed he would grow up and eat all the candy he wanted and stay up as late as he liked. By drawing pictures when he wasn't meant to and reading all the things people told him not to, he made his dream come true. Richard lives in Surrey, British Columbia, where he is able to work furiously, surrounded by plastic skeletons, dogs, friends, loved ones (and possibly the most comprehensive collection of Courtney Love bootlegs on the planet).
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9781645950028
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Pixel+ink
Publication date
April 16, 2020
Series
Black Sand Beach
BISAC categories
JUV008040 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Action & Adventure
JUV008130 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Paranormal
Library of Congress categories
Vacations
Beaches
Ghosts
Monsters
Best friends
Cartoons and comics
Comics (Graphic works)
Ghost comics
Monster comics
Little Maverick Reading List
Selection 2021

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