Beetle and the Hollowbones

Overview

Aliza Layne's debut graphic novel follows Beetle, a twelve-year-old goblin girl growing up in the strange town of 'Allows, where some residents practice glamorous sorcery while others end up as spirits stuck haunting the local mall. Beetle would rather spend her days with her best friend, Blob Ghost, than sit through homeschooling, but Blob Ghost is bound to the mall by a curse that keeps tightening its grip.

Complicating things further is the return of Kat, Beetle's former friend, who has come back to town to study magic under her formidable aunt, Hollowbone. Kat seems to have everything Beetle lacks: poise, skill, and a growing following online. As Beetle watches their friendship shift, she also uncovers a darker plan set in motion by Kat's mentor, one that threatens to make Blob Ghost's imprisonment permanent.

With only days to act, Beetle has to find a way to free her friend, help Kat find her own footing away from her aunt's shadow, and finally face the parts of her own magical identity she's been dodging.

A Story About Identity and Belonging Outside the Norm

Beneath its ghost-mall premise, the book is fundamentally about kids who don't fit the expected mold, whether because of family background, temperament, or the kind of power they're supposed to have. Beetle is a goblin in a world that prizes sorceress polish, and her sense of being lesser than her more conventionally magical peers drives much of the story's emotional weight. Layne uses the fantasy setting to explore how young people measure themselves against friends who seem to have it all figured out, and what it costs to keep pretending everything is fine.

The book has also been discussed as part of a wave of graphic novels expanding who gets to be the hero of a coming-of-age adventure, with a cast that includes nonbinary and queer characters presented as simply part of the world's fabric rather than a plot point. Its blend of spooky atmosphere, humor, and sincerity has drawn comparisons to animated series aimed at the same audience, and it has found a following among readers who appreciate character-driven fantasy that doesn't shy away from awkward feelings alongside the magic.

Why Beetle and the Hollowbones Has Been Challenged

Complaints brought before school boards have centered on the book's inclusion of a nonbinary character and same-sex family relationships, with parents arguing that the material introduces gender identity concepts to young readers before they're ready to process them and that such content belongs at home rather than in a school library. Some challenges have also framed the book's themes of found family and self-discovery as a vehicle for ideology rather than storytelling, questioning whether elementary and middle-grade collections should carry titles that normalize LGBTQ+ identities. In this catalog, the title has drawn recorded challenges in 3 states and 3 districts. Supporters of keeping the book on shelves have pointed to its literary merit and its value for readers who rarely see themselves reflected in adventure fiction, arguing that its handling of identity is incidental to a story primarily about friendship and courage.