The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York: A Yarn for the Strange at Heart by Kory Merritt

The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York: A Yarn for the Strange at Heart by Kory Merritt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Paperback, 128 pages
Published October 6th 2015 by Andrews McMeel
Source: egalley via Netgalley

The art is the best thing about this profusely illustrated picture book for older kids. It's creepy and haunting, a bit scary and gross at times, certainly disturbing and the creatures are the stuff of nightmares. I liked it, the colours, dark and cool, purples and blues matched the gothic atmosphere. The story, on the other hand is somewhat long-winded taking ages to get to any point. The whole first half up to where Jonathan can't come up with a story, I found boring and tedious and struggled with not wanting to finish the book. It would hardly have changed the plot had the book started in the middle with Jonathan sitting there without a story to tell, getting up, and the same events would have followed. This is where it picked up for me and I started to enjoy the swamp creatures and the antics. There is a moral; Jonathan starts off as a timid person afraid of living and after his adventure he has gained self-confidence and a new joy for life. Great art, so-so story