DECKER BROWN AND THE MONSTER CLUB

In England’s debut middle-grade novel, a tween boy goes on a quest through a magical realm in search of his missing parents.

Twelve-year-old Decker Brown contends with troll-like bullies at school and spends his holidays with fellow sixth graders Jude Spanno, Robert Sandbord, and Rita Foarthing, playing Monsters and Mages, a role-playing game that affords them a dynamic that recalls the main characters of the Netflix series Stranger Things. This similarity is strengthened when Decker and Jude explore a boarded-up cave system and not only release a gremlin, but also witness when the two local bullies are temporarily transformed into actual trolls. Further investigation reveals a portal within the cave—a conduit to another realm. Then Decker’s parents, who’ve been arguing, transform into savage beasts and run off into the night. While trying to find them and restore them to their human selves, Decker travels via portal to the veil, a magical realm hidden within the everyday world. There he meets Jeep, a fiercely independent girl who’s about his age. Jude, Robert, and Rita follow Decker to the veil and join the quest to find Decker’s mom and dad, which takes them through goblin-filled lands. England portrays Decker as a likable preteen boy who’s loyal, compassionate, and full of self-doubt. His friends, however, are rather more interesting characters, as are Jeep and other residents of the veil. Given its target audience, the novel feels quite long at more than 450 pages, but it affords space for engaging character development, as in a love triangle involving Rita, Decker, and Jeep. The pacing slows as the plot moves from scene-setting to full-on quest narrative, however, and the story tends to meander. The prose is exuberant but loose, offering occasionally curious word choices (such as conversational “weft”) and several textual glitches (vial instead of vile; waived for waved). Still, once young readers become invested in the story, they’ll likely enjoy many happy hours following Decker’s journey.

A wholehearted, if overlong, middle-grade fantasy with plenty of characterization.