August 17, 2020
In Shelley’s highly imaginative, immersive debut, Monsterkind is born from a human’s last sigh. When dying patriarch Samuel Kavanagh meets his newborn granddaughter, Beatrice, he sighs and she laughs, spawning a half-monster, half-fairy imp who looks discomfitingly like a human preteen. Deep in The Hole, where ogre king Thunderguts reigns over trolls, brownies, banshees, and the like with a stone fist, he and his loyal crone have monumental plans for the newly hatched imp boy. But before they can snag him, gargoyles Wheedle, Bladder, and Spigot take the child “upstairs”—to the world’s surface—where other monsters cannot stand direct sunlight. Cared for by the gargoyle pack and an angel, the unnamed boy has an eventful first few days. When he coincidentally meets the Kavanagh family in a chocolate shop, a shocking resemblance convinces them he has the soul of dead relatives. Naming the boy Samuel and inviting him into their home, the Kavanaghs believe they’re due for a happily ever after—but in Shelley’s cluttered fantastical world, danger threatens Sam and his newfound family. Allusions to Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” and considerations about what makes a monster round out this engaging if packed series starter. Ages 8–12. Agent: Catherine Pellegrino, Marjacq Scripts.
July 15, 2020
Born of the union of an old man's last sigh and a baby girl's first laugh, an imp emerges in the depths of The Hole, a vast and terrifying underground kingdom of fantastical creatures. Horrified by the sight of the ogre king, Thunderguts, the newly hatched imp--who strangely enough looks human--runs away, assisted by his new gargoyle friends, Wheedle, Bladder, and Spigot. When Daniel, an angel, helps the imp flee from the ogre king's goblin and troll henchmen, he takes the imp into the human world, to the Kavanagh family's wake for their grandfather, Samuel. Everyone is struck by how much the imp looks like Samuel as a young man. The family decides to take the imp to their home, and they name him Samuel. Everything in the human world is new to Samuel, and he savors it all completely. However, the day after Samuel's arrival, baby Beatrice is kidnapped. Devastated, Samuel returns to The Hole to look for her, convinced that her disappearance is his fault and determined to rescue her. Shelley creates a lavish tapestry of monsters, bringing together frightening creatures from a range of traditions. Her choice of language is taut and precise, filled with gorgeous metaphors and unexpected plot twists that will keep readers engaged. Limited physical descriptions point to a White default for human characters. Evocatively contrasts the strange, unexpected beauty of human life with the macabre, suffocating world of monsters. (Paranormal. 9-14)
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Starred review from July 1, 2020
Grades 5-7 *Starred Review* Predicated on the well-known fact that fairies are born from a baby's first laugh and the lesser-known one that monsters come from a dying person's last sigh of regret, this series opener centers on a lad who hatches, naked and nameless, in the teeming subterranean kingdom of the brutal Troll King. Fortunately, the lad?dubbed Imp, imp boy later, and perhaps finally Samuel?is taken under the wings and talons of a quarrelsome trio of despised but kindly gargoyles, as well as a helpful, if clerically swamped, guardian angel. Unfortunately, hardly has he perhaps found a home above ground with the Kavanaughs, a loving human family, than he is drawn back into the deadly caverns in pursuit of pixies who have stolen baby Beatrice Kavanaugh. From hulking ogres and slavering cannibal witches to tricksy pixies and goblins, Shelley positively shovels magical creatures into this eldritch thrill ride, plus a few humans unexpectedly capable of taking the occasional glimpse of a banshee or fairy light in stride. Confused by his dual nature and longing for clarity about where he belongs, Samuel has some hard choices to make when, at the climax, the Troll King offers him a dark but compelling bargain. Until his risky but right decision plays out spectacularly, readers will be holding their breaths. A memorable debut, threaded with twists both wry and scary.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
September 1, 2020
Gr 4-6-Shelley's debut offers a delightfully strange original story with a classic feel. On hatching day in the monster pit, one hatchling imp is different from all the other monsters. Even he doesn't know who or what he is. With the help of a charmingly grumpy pack of gargoyles, he sets out to discover his true identity. When he ends up at a human wake where he is mistaken for a relative, he gives himself the name Sam, and realizes what he is doesn't matter as much as choosing who he will be, and finding out where he belongs. Shelley's phrases like "a scuffle of bogies" and "a flight of bogarts" flow in a gentle river of beautiful and humorous word choices. The world she creates is marvelously odd. Sam is endearingly innocent. Clever readers will delight in figuring out what will happen just ahead of the characters. The ending, while satisfying, leaves many questions unanswered, making the story feel like the first of the trilogy that it is. However, the backdrop of London with landmarks familiar to any Harry Potter fan make this human-monster world seem all the more real. VERDICT A good choice for readers who enjoy the strange, dark world of Neil Gaiman's Coraline as well as the classic world-building and poetic voice of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Recommended as a family read-aloud.-Hillary Perelyubskiy, LAPL
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