I read the first five-book series of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and saw the movie when it was released a few years later, but until lately hadn't felt much interest for the follow-up series of three. It seemed like a opportunist spin-off, and it felt like the first one tied itself up pretty nicely. Besides, they didn't REALLY have that much of an effect on me, as books that I found to be, as a friend put it, Lemony Snicket Lite. Then when browsing at the library, I found all three just sitting there, nice and small and very attractive in design, so I decided to pick them up.
This first in the series was pretty weak. The characters are flat and have very little personality (and when they do, it seems pretty forced), and Nick, the main protagonist, is unpleasant throughout. The story doesn't really go anywhere to speak of, and it all seemed a little bit like an excuse to just drop the series in the new, interesting locale of Florida during the muggy summertime (the original series was set in Maine) and introduce a bunch of new creatures that they didn't get to use last time. Then, the story REALLY took a bizarre turn when the authors actually inserted themselves in the book, as writers of the original series and the spin-off Field Guide who do a book signing in Orlando. This self-inclusion works great for Lemony Snicket, since he's actually a character in the story, and of course a pseudonym besides, but in Spiderwick it comes across as gimmicky and self-indulgent. Then, don't let's forget to mention the appearance of the twin boys from the other books, whose names were apparently changed prior to publishing to protect their identities... Jared "Grace" has become a very nasty bully, and seems like a totally unnecessary addition to the book. Then, they arbitrarily introduce a brand new character in the very last few pages. The whole affair just seems kind of rushed and not totally thought-out. It also just seems like the authors don't really know what kids think or talk like, and they come across as kind of too grown-up and cynical. What age group is this book aimed at anyway? There's some pretty inappropriate language, and some pretty heavy subject matter. (I understand that divorce and adjusting to step-siblings is a topic that can be handled in kidlit, it's just a matter of whether or not the authors know how to do it right, and I don't think these quite do.) Just because a book is written for kids doesn't mean it can't be well-written.
I gave it a couple of stars, because the idea had potential, and the next two volumes might build on that. Also, the overall design is just beautiful. (Still, while I really do like the illustration style and a lot of the art, some of the drawings seemed sort of similarly self-indulgent, even to the point of including character portraits of the authors themselves. It just seemed sort of tacky.) I'll read the other two and see if this goes anywhere, but I'm not holding out much hope.