'Billy Fog and the Gift of Trouble Sight' is a strange book, hard to classify. It tells the story of a little boy who wants to resurrect his dead cat. To do this he talks to ghosts who have gory pasts. There are also poems in this book about murderers and other things. The illustrations are all very Tim Burton, if he didn't have to worry about age rating. There's information sections too, all illustrated, in the style of a vintage magazine about the ghosts and gory happenenings. This is a very dark, beautiful book. I can't say graphic novel because there is more to it than that. The content is quite disturbing, and that did surprise me. Maybe, I don't read enough gothic books to truely appreciate it. The illustrations are stunning, even if the subject matter might not be my first choice.
This would be a good reading group book because of the different methods of storytelling. It may be suitable for older teenagers, who would probably love it. I would suggest checking the book for content before putting it in a school library or the teenage section of a public library.
