I’ve been meaning to read (play?) this for months, ever since we bought it for kiddo after she recovered from being sick. Today, she’s sick again, so we went through it together.

This continues to be a great series by Shiga! I might like the first one more, but only slightly. The Beyond is surprisingly thinky for a kid’s book, has interesting puzzles, and there’s a hidden ending that I know exists but need to figure out. I hope Shiga has plans for more of these.

I don’t remember how I first discovered Jason Shiga, but I do remember working my way through his interactive puzzle comic Meanwhile one summer, some of it while purportedly completing an internship. Meanwhile is one of the first comics I added to my collection and one of the few of my early acquisitions that I still have. Anyway, all of that is to say that when I saw this comic in the new children’s books area at a local library, I immediately grabbed it. Meanwhile is a bit dark for kids, as I found when I tried it with kiddo some time ago, but this is more accessible, just as fun, and even improves on the physical format of Meanwhile. It works like a cross between a puzzle adventure game and a choose your own adventure book, and kiddo loved it. I also worked my way through the book—it’s the kind of book you have to “beat,” not “finish.” It’s excellently done, and I can’t wait for the next in the series to come out—or to revisit Meanwhile!