A review by the_fabric_of_words
The Suburb Beyond the Stars by M.T. Anderson
4.0
Remember the real estate developer from the first book? Sacrificed when he stumbled across the ancient rite that basically started the next round of game play, designed to be Gothic horror by Prudence, the game's previous winner?
Yeah, well, Milton Deatley's back -- and although he's a reanimated corpse, he's building homes and cul-de-sacs faster than Gregory or Brian can keep up. In fact, by the time the boys realize Prudence is missing and make it to Vermont to figure out what's going on, the Thusser have thrown the rule-book out the window.
Brian and Gregory are happy (sorta -- divisions between the two, jealousies, are arising) planning the next, and final, game. Brian technically gets to plan it, since he won the round for the elf-ish Norumbegans. The Norumbegans rented the boys a workshop in an old warehouse, and WeeSnig is building automatons to flesh out the noir mystery (think the old TV show, Mike Hammer) of Brian's design.
Someone or something tries to kill Brian on the subway. Then their half-built secretary tries to kill them with throwing stars. The Thusser are not playing games anymore. They're flat-out invading, creating time / space distortions that allow them to move into the new subdivision.
But first, they want to prep the human race. -- their thoughts and fears are easier for consumption that way.
The boys haven't heard from Prudence in two weeks, so they head off to the mansion in Vermont to figure out what's going on. They quickly discover the houses are absorbing their occupants.
Kalgrash shows up, leads them back to the mountain and the portal they almost stepped through in the game in the first book in the room with the creepy, scary arms growing on vines.
That's where the Norumbegans went, through the portal hundreds of years ago, and it's up to Greg and Brian to find them and tell them the Thusser are breaking the rules. Because there's no way humanity can stop them on their own, or at least, the boys don't think so.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Yeah, well, Milton Deatley's back -- and although he's a reanimated corpse, he's building homes and cul-de-sacs faster than Gregory or Brian can keep up. In fact, by the time the boys realize Prudence is missing and make it to Vermont to figure out what's going on, the Thusser have thrown the rule-book out the window.
Brian and Gregory are happy (sorta -- divisions between the two, jealousies, are arising) planning the next, and final, game. Brian technically gets to plan it, since he won the round for the elf-ish Norumbegans. The Norumbegans rented the boys a workshop in an old warehouse, and WeeSnig is building automatons to flesh out the noir mystery (think the old TV show, Mike Hammer) of Brian's design.
Someone or something tries to kill Brian on the subway. Then their half-built secretary tries to kill them with throwing stars. The Thusser are not playing games anymore. They're flat-out invading, creating time / space distortions that allow them to move into the new subdivision.
But first, they want to prep the human race. -- their thoughts and fears are easier for consumption that way.
The boys haven't heard from Prudence in two weeks, so they head off to the mansion in Vermont to figure out what's going on. They quickly discover the houses are absorbing their occupants.
Kalgrash shows up, leads them back to the mountain and the portal they almost stepped through in the game in the first book in the room with the creepy, scary arms growing on vines.
That's where the Norumbegans went, through the portal hundreds of years ago, and it's up to Greg and Brian to find them and tell them the Thusser are breaking the rules. Because there's no way humanity can stop them on their own, or at least, the boys don't think so.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/