Monster vs. Boy
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A moving middle-grade novel about unlikely friendships and facing our fears—or monsters!—perfect for fans of of Wendy Mass's and Rebecca Stead’s Bob.
“Monstrously magical and delicious!”—William Alexander, National Book Award Winner for Goblin Secrets
"A heartfelt tale of meeting your monsters and setting them free." —Linda Urban, acclaimed author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect
On the edge of town, a boy named Dawz lives with his sister and their uncle-turned-adoptive-father, Pop. No one in their ramshackle house knows that a monster—who is smaller than a bear cub—lives in Dawz’s bedroom closet. She calls herself Mim.
When a series of events forces Mim to leave her closet, she sets out on a quest to unlock the magic of books, but will Dawz be willing to help her?
The story of a monster who desperately wants to be seen and the reluctant boy who wishes he weren’t the only one who could, this exploration of found family, fear and mental health, and intergenerational trauma begs the question: What if the monsters that haunt us aren’t monsters at all?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The question of what does and doesn't make a monster is front and center in this dark yet earnest tale by Krossing (One Tiny Bubble). Eleven-year-old Dawz and his younger sister Jayla live with their uncle in Morsh, a town that was once purportedly the home of monsters, which haven't been sighted in years—except by Dawz. Though no one else can see or hear it, he knows that within his closet dwells a small monster with gray fur and purple scales named Mim, who is not fond of the boy who lives outside her abode. But Mim develops an appreciation for Dawz and his family when she overhears them reading aloud from books. Their tentative coexistence is upended when Mim—who grows physically larger and exponentially more curious by the day—emerges from the closet on a mission to uncover the magic of books. Krossing employs an omniscient third-person perspective to offer insight into both Mim's and Dawz's innermost thoughts. With realistically limned characters, the author explores pensive themes surrounding acceptance of oneself and of others to deliver a sensitive rumination on personhood and kindness. Context clues imply racial diversity among the human characters. Ages 10–up.
