A fizzling anticlimax
The Monstrumologist quartet wraps up in a haphazard, patchworked finale.
Even though Yancey offers a tone-setting disclaimer via an “editor’s note” at the forefront of the novel that the manuscripts he “translated” into this work were “nearly indecipherable, physically as well as contextually,” fans will still come away ultimately unsatisfied—possibly even feeling cheated—by this disjointed conclusion. In the main narrative (there are at least three), Will Henry, now 16, often drunk and colder than ever, helps Monstrumologist Pellinore Warthrop track down the T. cerrejonensis, a giant, snakelike critter that poisons its human prey then swallows them whole. At the same time, the novel also fast-forwards decades later to 1911, when Will returns to care for an elderly Warthrop and then reverts back to when he was first taken in by his employer. All this makes for a confusing read, and the future plotline serves as a spoiler to the central narrative. Also inserted are broken stanzas of poetry and italicized rants on the meaning of love and life that connect at a much more simplistic level than the earlier books. Still, parts of the novel are quite exciting and will induce just as much stomach-turning if not full-on gagging. At the end, the results feel rushed, as if Yancey were trying to quickly finish the job. Even the relatively anemic page count implies it.
A fizzling anticlimax . (Horror. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5153-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
A layered story of love, found family, growing up, and embracing change.
Juniper Nash Abreheart has just one summer to mend her past and protect her future.
Her charmingly eccentric Florida town on the island of White Coral Key means everything to Junie, and she desperately needs her last summer there to be perfect before she and her mother move in with her mom’s boyfriend, Paul, and his daughter, Tallulah. The two White girls don’t get along—and now they’ll be sharing a room in Paul’s house in an upscale, uptight neighboring town. Junie needs her three best friends to help her with their community theater’s rendition of Midsummer Madness. Junie and Colombian American Milo, bisexual Haitian American Lucy, and Filipino and White Graham have been close since they were little, but things have been shaky in their friend group since Junie’s secret fling with Graham last summer ended badly. Junie’s changing relationship with Graham, one that offers a chance of real love, is heartfelt and believable, and the various side plots are equally engaging. The portrayal of Junie’s relationship with her single mother is touching. The large cast of characters can at times be difficult to track, but the primary characters are well developed. Themes of trauma, grief, and forgiveness are balanced with witty narration and clever banter in a way that shows that Markum respects teens’ ability to engage with complexity.
A layered story of love, found family, growing up, and embracing change. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-84678-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Mental health awareness wrapped in a captivating storyline.
High school senior Moira Dreyfuss is sent to a remote boarding school known as the Castle.
After the death of her best friend, Moira’s dismal school attendance and late-night graveside visits coupled with a new tattoo push her worried Jewish parents over the edge. Moira is banished to the Castle, a school for troubled girls where psychiatrist Dr. Prince believes removing young people from their current environments will help them confront their problems. A day at the Castle for the 12 girls in attendance begins with breakfast and group therapy followed by low-effort classes and individual therapy. Moira isn’t happy about being sent away and knows she’s disappointed her parents, but she also senses that the Castle is not what it seems. When she notices her window’s broken padlock, she and her roommate, Eleanor, begin to sneak out and unravel the secrets of the institution and its leader, the enigmatic Dr. Prince. Moira’s character growth unfolds gradually and is satisfying to read; her fellow classmates prove that they’re far more than their diagnoses. Told with an air of mystery and populated with raw, struggling girls, this novel encapsulates themes such as grief, mental illness, addiction, and the value of friendship in times of suffering. It offers a haunting portrayal of the real mental, physical, and emotional challenges that adolescents struggle with. Characters are diverse in ethnicity, family background, and sexuality.
Mental health awareness wrapped in a captivating storyline. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72822-098-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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