I read the original novel for this when I was in third grade, over six years ago, and the novel has stuck with me ever since. I think it was actually my first introduction into the apocalypse/oh-no-something-went-really-really-wrong genre, and I loved it. Happened upon the graphic novelization in a book store and i could resist, and I'm really glad i got it. It's a great read, despite what people may say, and if you liked the graphic novel then you should definitely read the original.