Not really a ghost story. I did enjoy it quite a bit. ( )

This is a graphic novel version of a popular Children’s horror story. I wish I would have liked it more. The original novel was spooky and full of suspense, but the graphic novel just did not give the same vibes. It felt more drawn out and like the story was never going to end. The story is a family moves to a new house in the woods. The family starts to change, being moody, grouchy, and dirtier. Then the little sister goes missing. The son is sure the witch of the woods has stolen her. A new little girl shows up who was “took” years ago, but is destined to live a very short life. The story is still a great story, and I think it would make an excellent movie/show, but it may have been the illustrations or the way the story was broken up, but I was just not impressed with this story. ( )

Not really a ghost story. I did enjoy it quite a bit. ( )

Really good book and interesting, but might be scary for children. ( )

Took: A Ghost Story... well, really a witch story. I'm an old man who loves books written for teens and preteens. When I was a boy, we told "ghost stories" at night, sitting with our friends on the curb of our suburban street. Took feels very much like one of those stories. It's the same kind of scary/creepy. A witch in the woods kidnaps a little girl to serve as her slave for 50 years, during which time the girl does not age, and then after the 50 years is up, expels the previous girl and kidnaps a new one. Daniel, his parents and his sister move from urban Connecticut to rural West Virginia. When his sister is the witch's next victim, he is determined to get her back, even though his parents will not accept what all the locals in the town know... the witch is real.
The book has two weaknesses. One, it is nothing at all more than a spooky tale. None of the characters are thoroughly developed. The parents are just cardboard cut-outs. The townspeople are all exactly the same, a uniform lot of superstitious rednecks. Two, it's too long. At 260 pages, the story stretches about 160 pages more than necessary for such a lean plot. For a late elementary or early middle school reader who likes a spooky story, yes, this is better than a "Goosebumps" book, but it is not a great book. ( )