[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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These two volumes continue the story begun in Volume 1, “Welcome to Lovecraft,” so you should read them in order. As a reminder, Locke & Key is about a family living in a haunted mansion and struggling with the trauma caused by the violent murder of the father, as well as many mysterious secrets and supernatural happenings.
In vol. 2, “Head Games,” the family discovers a new magical key. This key can be used to open up your head so that you can add and remove memories. While this starts out as fun and games—using it to cheat on school tests—things take a darker turn when the sister uses it to remove her paralyzing fear. This volume contains some time travel and changing identities, and while it is a very interesting read, it is intended to be confusing even for a native speaker. It will be a challenge, but a worthwhile one, I think.
In vol. 3, “Crown of Shadows,” the mother’s reaction to her trauma is brought center stage as her children confront her about her alcoholism and deteriorating parenting skills. The sister pursues clues to learn about her late father, endangering her life and the lives of her friends. The series villain attacks the house directly, searching for another mysterious key and attacking the children with shadow monsters. Compared with vol. 2, this is a much more straightforward story with no time travel. It is much easier to read but relies on knowledge from the previous issue.
My two cents: If you really liked vol. 1, these two books are well worth reading. It’s okay to be confused, too: just enjoy the atmosphere and the mystery.
