The Gist
Will Henry is an elderly man who just passed away. He knew nearly nothing about himself, thought he was older than he could have possibly been, and had no relatives of any kind. A mystery, until the director of the nursing home Will Henry had lived at finds his journals. He gives them to a local author, and that's where Will Henry's story, however unbelievable, starts to come out. Young Will Henry was an orphan apprenticed to an eccentric man known as a monstrumologist, who worked in the study and capture of monsters. He's used to late nights, strange visitors, and dangerous monsters. But he wasn't used to this new breed of monsters that comes in 1888, when he's only twelve. Huge, muscled, and with an appetite for human flesh, these monsters must be stopped at any cost, and Will Henry and his guardian Doctor Warthrop don't have much time to prevent the biggest massacre the world has ever seen, carried out by beasts that the world doesn't believe exist.
What We Think
Reviewed by Living Destiny
Number of Pages: 434
This book, man. This book. I'm not even going to bother with some witty intro, because this book.
The concept is fantastic. I've never heard of anything like it, especially not as a young adult novel, where most books consist of some weird romance that involves vampires, zombies or mermaids. A man who studies monsters. And that's the loosest description of this book. The monsters aren't anything common either. No werewolves or yetis or chupacabras. Lots of weird Latin names for beasts that sound terrifying. Told by an old man through his twelve year old self, presented to the reader by an adult author who reads the journals left behind. It ought to be confusing, but instead it's captivating. I spent a solid four hours laying on top of my dining room table, because I couldn't be bothered to even move while I was reading this book, let alone to put it down.
The writing style was awesome. The book was just so well written. I get really excited about really good books, so bear with me. The descriptions were real. It was like I was actually there, like I could see and smell and touch. I was immersed in the world of the novel. And sometimes, that was pretty disgusting. There were moments where I sincerely thought I was going to throw up, which is something I haven't done in at least four years, even when I'm sick. I don't have a weak stomach, but it was worded so precisely and in exactly the way I would have seen it, that I started to think I'd need a bucket nearby. But don't let that be off-putting, because it was incredible. If a book can affect you that much, that one factor alone makes it worth reading. And there's many more factors than just that.
I will say that some of the language was a little fancy. That's the one downside. Lots of big words, even some that I wasn't quite sure of the meaning without the context. But the language made sense when considering the narrator. It's essentially the diary of a twelve year old boy from 1888, but written from the memory of the boy who was over 100. At his death, supposedly, the narrator was 131 years old. It makes sense that in that time he gathered up a lot of big words. So even if the large words are sometimes dense, they are fitting. Especially given the time period. 1888 is a long time ago, and the language was different back then. And that's another thing the author did well, was the time period. It seemed accurate, and I liked the choice to make it so far back, in a time when monsters were something that people would actually believe in. Nowadays, creatures of the dark are only seen in movies, and people don't seem to do as much believing in the things they can't see.
I loved the characters. Will Henry is amazing, both his twelve year old self and his 100-something year old commentary. He's a tough young kid, with no one left in the world and no one to turn to other than his father's boss, the monstrumologist. He's put through a tremendous amount of stress and terror, and he deals with it remarkably well, but in a way that is believable. He's dedicated to his new guardian, but still understands when the good doctor goes totally overboard. And the doctor was an interesting one. Doctor Warthrop is seriously passionate about his work. To the point where he stops eating and sleeping, and makes himself very ill. But that sort of passion is, in a way, inspiring. He's harsh, and perhaps a bit insane, but he's entertaining to read.
The pace of storytelling never lets up. It starts out exciting and it doesn't stop to get dull anywhere. It just continues to grow until the climactic battle, and finally it smooths into a satisfying ending, but it stays interesting. There were never points where I felt bored or uninterested. Rick Yancey, the author, certainly knows how to hold his readers.
One last point. First and last lines are extremely important. They have to be powerful, or the book won't catch. Technically, the first line of this book is talking about the director of the nursing home, and it's interesting enough, but the first line of chapter one is better. The first line written in the journals. It automatically pulls you in, and holds you until the last line of the epilogue. The last line is actually a quote from earlier in the book, but it's so intense and a little creepy. It's one of those things that makes you stop and reconsider your entire life. Scary stuff.
I loved this book. I think I could talk about this book for about as long as the book itself, so I'll stop it here and just say this. I loved it. Without a doubt one of the best young adult books I've ever read.
Real Teen Rating ~ A+: Why are you still reading this, go buy this book now!
Will Henry is an elderly man who just passed away. He knew nearly nothing about himself, thought he was older than he could have possibly been, and had no relatives of any kind. A mystery, until the director of the nursing home Will Henry had lived at finds his journals. He gives them to a local author, and that's where Will Henry's story, however unbelievable, starts to come out. Young Will Henry was an orphan apprenticed to an eccentric man known as a monstrumologist, who worked in the study and capture of monsters. He's used to late nights, strange visitors, and dangerous monsters. But he wasn't used to this new breed of monsters that comes in 1888, when he's only twelve. Huge, muscled, and with an appetite for human flesh, these monsters must be stopped at any cost, and Will Henry and his guardian Doctor Warthrop don't have much time to prevent the biggest massacre the world has ever seen, carried out by beasts that the world doesn't believe exist.
What We Think
Reviewed by Living Destiny
Number of Pages: 434
This book, man. This book. I'm not even going to bother with some witty intro, because this book.
The concept is fantastic. I've never heard of anything like it, especially not as a young adult novel, where most books consist of some weird romance that involves vampires, zombies or mermaids. A man who studies monsters. And that's the loosest description of this book. The monsters aren't anything common either. No werewolves or yetis or chupacabras. Lots of weird Latin names for beasts that sound terrifying. Told by an old man through his twelve year old self, presented to the reader by an adult author who reads the journals left behind. It ought to be confusing, but instead it's captivating. I spent a solid four hours laying on top of my dining room table, because I couldn't be bothered to even move while I was reading this book, let alone to put it down.
The writing style was awesome. The book was just so well written. I get really excited about really good books, so bear with me. The descriptions were real. It was like I was actually there, like I could see and smell and touch. I was immersed in the world of the novel. And sometimes, that was pretty disgusting. There were moments where I sincerely thought I was going to throw up, which is something I haven't done in at least four years, even when I'm sick. I don't have a weak stomach, but it was worded so precisely and in exactly the way I would have seen it, that I started to think I'd need a bucket nearby. But don't let that be off-putting, because it was incredible. If a book can affect you that much, that one factor alone makes it worth reading. And there's many more factors than just that.
I will say that some of the language was a little fancy. That's the one downside. Lots of big words, even some that I wasn't quite sure of the meaning without the context. But the language made sense when considering the narrator. It's essentially the diary of a twelve year old boy from 1888, but written from the memory of the boy who was over 100. At his death, supposedly, the narrator was 131 years old. It makes sense that in that time he gathered up a lot of big words. So even if the large words are sometimes dense, they are fitting. Especially given the time period. 1888 is a long time ago, and the language was different back then. And that's another thing the author did well, was the time period. It seemed accurate, and I liked the choice to make it so far back, in a time when monsters were something that people would actually believe in. Nowadays, creatures of the dark are only seen in movies, and people don't seem to do as much believing in the things they can't see.
I loved the characters. Will Henry is amazing, both his twelve year old self and his 100-something year old commentary. He's a tough young kid, with no one left in the world and no one to turn to other than his father's boss, the monstrumologist. He's put through a tremendous amount of stress and terror, and he deals with it remarkably well, but in a way that is believable. He's dedicated to his new guardian, but still understands when the good doctor goes totally overboard. And the doctor was an interesting one. Doctor Warthrop is seriously passionate about his work. To the point where he stops eating and sleeping, and makes himself very ill. But that sort of passion is, in a way, inspiring. He's harsh, and perhaps a bit insane, but he's entertaining to read.
The pace of storytelling never lets up. It starts out exciting and it doesn't stop to get dull anywhere. It just continues to grow until the climactic battle, and finally it smooths into a satisfying ending, but it stays interesting. There were never points where I felt bored or uninterested. Rick Yancey, the author, certainly knows how to hold his readers.
One last point. First and last lines are extremely important. They have to be powerful, or the book won't catch. Technically, the first line of this book is talking about the director of the nursing home, and it's interesting enough, but the first line of chapter one is better. The first line written in the journals. It automatically pulls you in, and holds you until the last line of the epilogue. The last line is actually a quote from earlier in the book, but it's so intense and a little creepy. It's one of those things that makes you stop and reconsider your entire life. Scary stuff.
I loved this book. I think I could talk about this book for about as long as the book itself, so I'll stop it here and just say this. I loved it. Without a doubt one of the best young adult books I've ever read.
Real Teen Rating ~ A+: Why are you still reading this, go buy this book now!
