- Graphic Novels
- Ages 9–12
- Fantasy
Eowulf: Of Monsters and Middle School
Book 1 in EowulfView the full series
A wisecracking descendant of Beowulf is back from a summer of interdimensional monster-fighting and stuck in dull suburban middle school, until an old supervillain resurfaces and she has to team up with the class outcast. Fast, funny fantasy.
- Best for9–12
- FormatGraphic
- Length224 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr45 min
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The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Adventurous
- Exciting
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Eowulf Wegmund just had the summer of a lifetime, travelling to a magical supply shop at the crossroads of all realities, springing unicorn soldiers from a pocket dimension and helping her friend Nico Bravo take down an evil god, pretty standard stuff for a descendant of the legendary monster-hunter Beowulf. Now she is back in her boring New Jersey suburb, where the only monsters live in her D&D campaign and the strangest creature around is Amadeus Hornburg, the angry middle-school classmate nobody likes. But when a mysterious supervillain returns to tear their sleepy town apart, Eowulf and Amadeus are forced to join forces and dig up a dark past that would much rather stay buried. A Kirkus Best Book of the Year, this action-packed, wisecracking graphic novel spins out of Mike Cavallaro's Nico Bravo series with an instantly iconic new heroine.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
An action-comedy fantasy graphic novel for 9 to 12s reading independently, with adventurous 8s enjoying it too. The monster peril is exciting rather than frightening. It reads well alone but launches a series and links to the author's Nico Bravo books.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Patchy
Works well for
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Fantasy adventure fans
- Graphic novel lovers
- Funny action
Avoid if
- Wants calm bedtime
- Sensitive to peril
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Eowulf hunts actual monsters across dimensions, then has to survive middle school, which might be worse. When a supervillain hits her town she teams up with the angriest kid in class, and the mix of big battles, D&D jokes and school-day chaos never lets up.
- Being special or chosen
- Adventure and freedom
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
It is clever, funny and fast, an award-noticed graphic novel that lets a smart, snarky heroine carry a full monster-fighting adventure while quietly saying something about the kids everyone writes off. Great for a reader who wants action with a sense of humour.
- Shared humour
- Indie gem discovery
In the series
Eowulf.
2 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Mike Cavallaro.
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