Set in Medieval times in a feudal society, “William and the Lost Spirit” by Bonneval and Bonhomme takes the reader into a land of magic, science and folklore. This magical tale takes you to far off lands that reach the depths of young William’s imagination.  Although the art for this graphic novel was really great for the subject, and I give gratitude and respect to the artist for having the patience to draw every single board, the plot was disappointing. I was expecting a ‘coming of age’ story or a thrilling mystery from what I read in the summary. Unfortunately I didn’t get that. There were some ‘coming of age’ aspects in the story but it wasn't the main story.  The book was also a bit too strange for my taste. In my opinion, William’s ‘adventures’ or dreams were quite odd—even for a young boy of his background. Also another problem I had with this book is the main character. William doesn't seem to care about anything.  In the beginning, he doesn’t seem to care about his father’s death—he had a ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ persona almost—and at the end he doesn’t seem to want to hold his father’s killer accountable.

Needless to say, I had many problems with this book because in my opinion, a book—whatever type it may be—must have a good, some-what logical plot with developed or developing characters, and this particular book did not seem to have it.  Perhaps I am too harsh on this book and my ability to get into this book was just too weak—the fantasy didn’t take hold; but that still is a problem. Why couldn’t this book catch me and keep me in?

You may decide for yourselves, but for myself, I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.