Book Review of The Monstrumologist

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Yancey, Rick. 2009. THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. ISBN 9781416984481.

 

PLOT SUMMARY

Twelve-year-old Will Henry finds himself living with his late father’s employer, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. Dr. Warthrop is a scientist who studies creatures that other people deem monsters. The story begins with the discovery of a dead monster in a cemetery. Together they work to determine how it got there. Along the way, they must protect themselves and their community from a coven of these monsters. Eventually, they figure out where the monsters came from, and make some other startling finds along the way.    

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

As soon as I started reading this story, I was reminded of the classics, FRANKENSTEIN and THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. It has the same eerie, creepy feel as these classic novels. Furthermore, it presented itself as a story about the intersection between science and the supernatural, just as the two previously mentioned novels do. The novel is written in a kind of old-fashioned English, with many colloquialisms and expressions of a bygone era. Subsequently, it may present a challenge to younger readers not accustomed to that style of writing. Nonetheless, it is a good tale of fantasy. At its core, it is a tale of horror, but it is presented as a mystery involving elements of familial dysfunction combined with intellectual inquiry. It is a macabre detective story. It is “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” expanded into a full-length novel. In some ways, it’s as if Sherlock Holmes was transported into a horror story. During the course of the story, the reader is offered examples of psychosis, sociopathy, and other personality defects. Young adult readers, being naturally curious about, but inexperienced in the world around them, will find these vignettes interesting in a morbid sort of way. The novel also explores themes of societal mores, standards, and inequalities. These subjects are delivered with a dark, tongue-in-cheek humor, which teenage readers will no doubt be amused by. While it can be a somewhat verbose read, the solution to the mystery explained at the end of the novel makes provides a worthy culmination to the twists and turns that precede it.            

 

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2010 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Award Book

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “… the author folds surprising depth and twists into the plot and cast alike...”

VOYA review: “This story is gothic horror at its finest and most disturbing.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY starred review: “With a roaring sense of adventure and enough viscera to gag the hardiest of gore hounds, Yancey’s series starter might just be the best horror novel of the year.”


CONNECTIONS

* This is a good book for discussions on gothic, detective, and horror fiction.

* Other books related to this one:

Yancey, Rick. 2010. THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO. ISBN 141698450X.

Yancey, Rick. 2011. THE ISLE OF BLOOD. ISBN 9781416984528. 

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