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gen_wolfhailstorm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I blended read this one, with the physical and the audio and it was a winning combination! The narrator had some really good voices for the various characters and thoroughly brought the characters to life.
Thinking about it, The monsters of Rookhaven has a slight touch of Miss Peregrine's Home for Perculiar Children, which so happens to be one of my beloved stories.
This was such a a captivating read. I absolutely devoured (too soon?) the plot and loved the characters. Mirabelle was a fantastic protagonist and I loved the friendship she had with Jem, although I wish there had been a few more scenes with Tom as the story progressed because we got all this backstory of how close a bond the siblings had, only for it to be kind of non existent as soon as they discovered Rookhaven. For various reasons, yes, but all the same it certainly collapsed that particular thread of character development.
The storytelling was absolutely exquisite and despite finding similarities that I loved to another series, it still felt wholely unique and creative.
The conversation on monsters not being who you think was really thought provoking, especially in a story aimed at younger readers, which I thought was so important.
I adored everything about this!
Thinking about it, The monsters of Rookhaven has a slight touch of Miss Peregrine's Home for Perculiar Children, which so happens to be one of my beloved stories.
This was such a a captivating read. I absolutely devoured (too soon?) the plot and loved the characters. Mirabelle was a fantastic protagonist and I loved the friendship she had with Jem, although I wish there had been a few more scenes with Tom as the story progressed because we got all this backstory of how close a bond the siblings had, only for it to be kind of non existent as soon as they discovered Rookhaven. For various reasons, yes, but all the same it certainly collapsed that particular thread of character development.
The storytelling was absolutely exquisite and despite finding similarities that I loved to another series, it still felt wholely unique and creative.
The conversation on monsters not being who you think was really thought provoking, especially in a story aimed at younger readers, which I thought was so important.
I adored everything about this!
ali_magaa's review against another edition
5.0
Ho adorato questo libro!
Mi è piaciuto tutto, dallo stile di scrittura, ai disegni e ai personaggi, ho persino versato qualche lacrima.
Bellissimo libro per iniziare l'anno, super consigliato!
Mi è piaciuto tutto, dallo stile di scrittura, ai disegni e ai personaggi, ho persino versato qualche lacrima.
Bellissimo libro per iniziare l'anno, super consigliato!
elpis_psyche's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: War
oh_renard_lit's review against another edition
From the story events to the characters to the plot twists, it all fell flat for me. I felt there was something missing wherever I looked. It is all a bit surface-level, more than the type of surface-level that you typically find in childhood literature.
A big meh that made me loose motivation to read.
A big meh that made me loose motivation to read.
cduu's review against another edition
4.0
Magical, Heartwrenching
I really enjoyed the first installment of The Monsters of Rookhaven. It’s a lovely story about family, love, and bravery. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters, and falling in love with their quirks. My only qualm with it was that it seemed to mirror House in the Cerulean Sea a bit.
I really enjoyed the first installment of The Monsters of Rookhaven. It’s a lovely story about family, love, and bravery. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters, and falling in love with their quirks. My only qualm with it was that it seemed to mirror House in the Cerulean Sea a bit.
oofym's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ineslts's review
5.0
A wonderful read that had me glued to the pages from start to finish.
Monsters are scary and wonderful, all in one, but real monsters are simply scary and I think this book showed that perfectly! From the several points of view, to the characters themselves, it was lovely and sad and scary and wonderful.
Would you like to visit Rookhaven?
Monsters are scary and wonderful, all in one, but real monsters are simply scary and I think this book showed that perfectly! From the several points of view, to the characters themselves, it was lovely and sad and scary and wonderful.
Would you like to visit Rookhaven?
hannahhbic's review against another edition
3.0
DNF. Unfortunately it doesn't captivate my attention.
Thank you to NetGalley for a preview copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for a preview copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
I'm not entirely sure why I added this book to the wishlist as soon as I saw it. I guess it's partly the title. I'm a textbook Scorpio and therefore always find myself attracted to the darker side of life. If your title has monsters in it, there will always be curiosity in me. But it's for sure also the cover in this case and mostly the colors and how they are used. I was gonna order online, but then we visited Waterstones in Amsterdam and there the book was! Today it was finally time to read it.
What surprised me the most about this, especially because it's a middle grade, is the writing style. The sentences are beautiful, there seems to be a certain rhythm to the story and especially the Piglet chapters are so incredibly beautiful to read. The writing style partly sets the atmosphere. It makes the book a little timeless, as if it's not entirely set in the here and now, it also gives the book something enchanting, even though the stars are monsters.
I also really loved the plot and the way Kenny played with the word monster. What makes someone a monster? When is a monster a monster? When is a monster dangerous? What makes someone dangerous? What do we need to have more understanding towards each other? It seems a fun middle grade at first glance, but it does have that deeper layer I as an adult love so much when reading middle grade novels. It's fun for the kids too. They can reread the book and discover new things.
Of course, the true stars of this book are the characters, especially The Family. Kenny has certainly been creative when creating his monsters, but even though they were different from us humans, even though they had certain powers and even though at times they crossed lines, it was impossible not to fall in love with them all. I mean, as someone with some form of fear of spiders I never thought I'd be rooting for an aunt literally made of countless little spiders. BUT I DID!
I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
What surprised me the most about this, especially because it's a middle grade, is the writing style. The sentences are beautiful, there seems to be a certain rhythm to the story and especially the Piglet chapters are so incredibly beautiful to read. The writing style partly sets the atmosphere. It makes the book a little timeless, as if it's not entirely set in the here and now, it also gives the book something enchanting, even though the stars are monsters.
I also really loved the plot and the way Kenny played with the word monster. What makes someone a monster? When is a monster a monster? When is a monster dangerous? What makes someone dangerous? What do we need to have more understanding towards each other? It seems a fun middle grade at first glance, but it does have that deeper layer I as an adult love so much when reading middle grade novels. It's fun for the kids too. They can reread the book and discover new things.
Of course, the true stars of this book are the characters, especially The Family. Kenny has certainly been creative when creating his monsters, but even though they were different from us humans, even though they had certain powers and even though at times they crossed lines, it was impossible not to fall in love with them all. I mean, as someone with some form of fear of spiders I never thought I'd be rooting for an aunt literally made of countless little spiders. BUT I DID!
I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
leschroniques_delea's review against another edition
3.0
3,5/5
J'ai bien aimé ce premier tome mais je l'ai trouvé très introductif pour de la jeunesse. Je reste un peu mitigée sur ma lecture car j'ai beaucoup apprécié l'univers assez différent de ce qu'on peut voir en générale et les personnages qui sont très attachants.
Cependant, l'intrigue est très longue à se mettre en place et on attend un moment avant de comprendre quel est le problème et qui est "l'ennemi" de la famille. En effet avant qu'il apparaisse personne ne parlait d'une quelconque personne qui pourrait être dangereuse pour leur vie.
La fin pour moi a été un peu précipitée par rapport au dérouler de l'histoire et je me suis un peu ennuyée pendant ma lecture mais je pense que je lirai la suite pour avoir la réponse à une question qu'on a en fin de lecture.
Le point positif de l'histoire reste les personnages, comme je l'ai dis je me suis attachée à eux, l'auteur a réussi à montrer les différences et les peurs que peuvent connaître les enfants ou les adultes. A travers Mirabelle et sa famille de monstres il nous montre les différences. Jem et Tom sont deux humains orphelins qui ont subi pas mal de violence de la part de leur oncle et Mirabelle va les accepter parmi sa famille et devenir amie avec Jem. On a une belle histoire d'amitié et d'acceptation entre les personnages qui se crée ce que j'ai apprécié. Tom suite à un événement va prendre conscience de pas mal de chose et son comportement va changer, il va devenir plus altruiste et il va vouloir aider la famille à survivre face à leur ennemi.
J'ai bien aimé ce premier tome mais je l'ai trouvé très introductif pour de la jeunesse. Je reste un peu mitigée sur ma lecture car j'ai beaucoup apprécié l'univers assez différent de ce qu'on peut voir en générale et les personnages qui sont très attachants.
Cependant, l'intrigue est très longue à se mettre en place et on attend un moment avant de comprendre quel est le problème et qui est "l'ennemi" de la famille. En effet avant qu'il apparaisse personne ne parlait d'une quelconque personne qui pourrait être dangereuse pour leur vie.
La fin pour moi a été un peu précipitée par rapport au dérouler de l'histoire et je me suis un peu ennuyée pendant ma lecture mais je pense que je lirai la suite pour avoir la réponse à une question qu'on a en fin de lecture.
Le point positif de l'histoire reste les personnages, comme je l'ai dis je me suis attachée à eux, l'auteur a réussi à montrer les différences et les peurs que peuvent connaître les enfants ou les adultes. A travers Mirabelle et sa famille de monstres il nous montre les différences. Jem et Tom sont deux humains orphelins qui ont subi pas mal de violence de la part de leur oncle et Mirabelle va les accepter parmi sa famille et devenir amie avec Jem. On a une belle histoire d'amitié et d'acceptation entre les personnages qui se crée ce que j'ai apprécié. Tom suite à un événement va prendre conscience de pas mal de chose et son comportement va changer, il va devenir plus altruiste et il va vouloir aider la famille à survivre face à leur ennemi.