Mirabelle is part of a very unusual family. Between Uncle Bertram transforming into a ferocious grizzly bear and Aunt Eliza’s body being made entirely of spiders, it’s safe to say they are an extraordinary lot. To the human residents of Rookhaven Village, the family is a threat. So long ago, a treaty was reached between them ― in return for sundries and supplies, the monsters won’t eat the townspeople ― and an invisible glamour was set around the perimeter of the Manor to keep strangers out.
But the glamour serves a second purpose: to keep Mirabelle and her family hidden from those who would do them harm. When two orphans ― siblings Jem and Tom ― stumble upon a tear in the magical field and open a door that was meant to stay locked, Mirabelle and her family are put in grave danger. A very real monster has locked onto their scent, and he has a hunger for their kind. At turns chilling and thought-provoking, and stunningly illustrated by Edward Bettison, Pádraig Kenny’s The Monsters of Rookhaven explores difference and empathy through the eyes of characters you won’t soon forget.
"Pivoting between the... characters in a third-person narration, this elaborately cast adventure by Kenny (Tin) begins languidly, gathering momentum and turning grim when a Family member escapes just before an unsettling hitchhiker's arrival, and the human (and human-seeming) children must fight desperately to maintain relations between the Family and the postwar English village nearby. Full of gruesome charm and heart-wrenching pathos, this story offers a satisfying gothic fantasy at once chilling and affecting." — Publishers Weekly
Recommended Age | 10 - 13 |
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Author | Pádraig Kenny |
Illustrator | Edward Bettison |
ISBN | 1250623944 |
Publication Date | Sep 21, 2021 |
Publisher | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) |
Language | English |