The Monsters of Morley Manor
Written by Bruce Coville
Reviewed by Jackie S. (age 10)
"Anthony, this is too weird!" It all starts out when Anthony Walker and his little sister Sarah go to a tag sale at Morley Manor, the weirdest house in Owl's Roost, Nebraska. Anthony buys a box which contains (although he doesn't know it at the time) five little monsters. One night one of the monsters gets wet and begins to move. Anthony and Sarah end up thawing out all the monsters and then realize that Morley Manor, the monsters home, is getting torn down! Can Anthony and Sarah save Morley Manor, which is the only way for the monsters to return to their original size and form? To find out, travel with Anthony, Sarah, Gaspar, Albert, Bon, Ludmilla, and Melisande through many different worlds that we have never heard of and try to help them save the world from the Flinduvians.
I thought this book was different from most books I've read. It was weird but really interesting. I liked this book a lot because of all the exciting parts. As soon as something's going smoothly another thing happens. I thought all five of the "monsters" were interesting. I thought they were interesting because of their looks. First is Gaspar, who has a lizard head. His too little sisters also have unusual looks. Ludmilla is a vampire and Melisande has snakes for hair. Then there's a little hunchback named Albert, who's in love with Ludmilla. Last, is Bob, who is a werehuman. This book is like other books by this author because his other books are also weird and could never really happen. I felt excited as I read the book because I was kept in suspense. I always wondered what would happen next.
I recommend this book for kids 8 and up. Even adults will like it. If you like werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, wizards, aliens, ghosts, ancient curses, giant frogs, evil clones, fallen angels, and zombie warriors then this is the book for you!