Horn Book Review
With humorous creeps, a diverse cast of characters, and fabulous cityscapes, this second graphic novel deepens the human/monster relationships in Echo City and explores urban renewal and human habitat incursions. Margo Maloo, monster mediator, again asks aspiring journalist Charles to assist in her monster awareness work, and together they help mall-dwelling teen vampires. Unresolved issues provide fodder for future installments. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In the sequel to The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo (2017), aspiring journalist Charles Thompson works closely with Margo Maloo, who resolves problems between children and the monsters they encounter. Eager to begin his Pulitzer quest, Charles begins to assist Margo in her work and discovers the secret world of monsters and is determined to show the worldthrough his blogthat they are not as dangerous as humans make them out to be. In episodic graphic chapters, Charles and Margo help Fyo, a baby imp, find his family and address the concerns of teenage vampires who live in an abandoned mall. While the child characters are representative of limited racesCharles is white, Margo is Indian-American, and Kevin is blackthe often misunderstood monsters allow a lot more room for a lot more interpretation. Characters are deftly developed through dialogue bubbles and visually, the gremlinlike Fyo's distress at discovering his former home knocked down taken just as seriously as Margo's tender relationship with her elderly uncle, who appears to be slipping into dementia. The graphic narrative points out that different is not necessarily bad and that humans and monsters are afraid of one another primarily because of misinformation and miscommunicationa valuable lesson for human-human relations as well. (Graphic fantasy. 8-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Kid paranormal investigator Margo Maloo is back at it again, with her assistant and aspiring reporter, Charles, along for the ride. This time around, the two attempt to track down an imp's missing family and keep a family of vampires safe, all while protecting the delicate balance between the monster and human worlds. Much like the first installment, Weing's newest addition is a fun, lively romp into the hidden world of the supernatural. The combination of Margo's cautious perspective and Charles' wide-eyed glee over the misunderstood monsters cultivates an intriguing dynamic between the two characters that drives the plot forward and keeps kids invested. That, along with a cliff-hanger ending that moves the story forward in a dramatic way, gives this continuing series even more promise. Weing's artwork further adds to the lighthearted fun: his detailed backgrounds, jewel-toned color palette, only slightly spooky monsters, and stylish character designs give this lots of visual appeal. Fans of the first installment won't want to miss this sequel.--Peter Blenski Copyright 2018 Booklist
