A Monster Calls blogged by Andrew W.

Yesterday, I reviewed The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Today, I shall report on A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (inspired by Siobhan Dowd). This is a picture book, but it's fairly dark and deals with some mature themes. A troubled boy named Conor, with an ailing mother, a divorced father, and a slightly unpleasant grandmother, is paid visits in the night by a huge monster, made of a yew tree. The monster tells Conor three tales in exchange for a fourth tale told by Conor. The boy thinks he knows what the fourth tale is, but dreads its coming even as the monster tells him a tale of royal backstabbing and intrigue, a tale of an apothecary and a holy man, and even a tale of Conor and his schoolyard bully. Finally, it comes time for the fourth tale: his recurring nightmare about losing his mother to a fiery monster, aka. cancer. The monster forces Conor to relive the nightmare, and helps him cope with the loss of his mother and make amends with his grandmother.

Alice in Zombieland blogged by Callista M.

Hours Read: 38hrs
The book I would like to report on: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Rating: Five Stars

Summary:

“You see anything in the shadows, anything at all, you pick up your sister and run” Alice’s dad warns. These words make up the last bits of conversation Alice shares with her family before the accident. In Gena Showalter’s Alice in Zombieland, the protagonist, Alice Bell, fights for her life as she learns that her dad’s paranoia that she has dismissed as long as she can remember came with good reason.
Alice leads a sheltered life where she is not allowed to go to any parties, hang out with friend, or do anything outside her house after sunset. These strict rules, imposed by her father, are all she has ever known. While she holds resentment towards her father, these rules have kept her family alive.
After convincing her family to go out after dark, to watch her sister’s recital, Alice’s entire family dies at the hands of monsters hungry for human flesh.
Now, Alice is set on avenging her family, but to do so she must plunge into a world she never knew existed, and trust an intimidating group of social outcasts who seem to know more about the “monsters” and who Alice really is than they let on.
From there, Alice discovers a world inhabited by evil, soulless creatures that she, as well as a few others, was born to fight.

Review:
Gena Showalter spins a unique story that combines elements of the famous Alice in Wonderland, and also the ever-popular tales of zombies. Showalter not only provides a plot that compels the reader to continue to the conclusion, but also she writes characters who have a lasting effect. Alice and her friends have a strong sense of humor and know individually who they are instead of being wishy-washy.
Anyway, I had never heard of Gena Showalter’s work before, so this read was a pleasant surprise! Overall, the book earns 5 stars for all of the “really, I have to wait for the next book?” moments that lie beyond the cover.

Monster High

Blogged by Ashanti P.

I read Monster High by Lisi Harrison. The book was about two girls one named Melody the other named Frankie. Frankie is the granddaughter of Frankenstein. She is 15 days old and she goes to a normie school. Everyday Frankie must put Melody moved to Oregon from Beverly Hills 90210. Melody's dad is a plastic surgeon. Melody is the odd ball of her family because everyone else has good looks but her. Melody's parents moved her and her sister here so that her asthma would not act up and she could breath fresh air. Frankie and Melody are both new to Merston High. Melody meets a boy named Jackson and he seems kind of curdy(cute and nurdy she and her sister put together) to her. Melody realized that something was different about him other than the fact that he like her. She didn't know why, all she kew was that every once in a while he didn't act like herself. Frankie was a RAD (Regular Attribut Dodgers). Melody had a big crush on Brett a normie who had a very jealous girlfriend Bekka. Bekka was so jealous she made anybody who wanted to be her friend sign a contract that they would never go with Brett or they had to fight any girl they saw flirting with Brett. Cleo was a mummy, Clawdeen was a werewolf, Lala or Draculara the daughter of Dracula was a vampire, Blue was Lagoona Blue the daughter of a sea monster. Frankie causes trouble after deciding to go to the Monster Mash Dance at school as herself. Her head falls off while kissing Bekka's boyfriend Brett causing attention and the authorities to show up. Frankie is then banished from going out of her room and is homeschooled. I don't know what happens at the end because the book ended with a cliff hanger.

I did like the book. I would recommend it to a friend, but the beginning started off slow. It took me about three hours at the most.