A review by colourbandit
My Name Is Monster by Katie Hale
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found My Name is Monster to be a very unique read, quite unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I love a good dystopia, especially with such an unusual concept such as this.
My opinion on our main character changed so much throughout, with an unexpected, really slow burning dislike growing through the story. Looking back, it was quite clear from the get go what kind of person she was, but we didn’t get to see the full extent of it until she met Monster. My dislike for her as a character did not taint my opinion of the book overall though, as I feel she was written so so well to make me feel like that.
The development of the relationship between the two main characters was probably my favourite thing about the book, with Monster very slowly coming to terms with the fact that Mother wasn’t the person she seemed to be initially. And the twist towards the end of Monster becoming pregnant was really surprising to me, but it worked really well in the end. It maybe wasn’t where I thought the story should’ve gone, but maybe it being predictable with Monster running away for good would’ve been too obvious.
The worldbuilding with the sickness was interesting. I would’ve liked to see a bit more about what actually happened and the context surrounding it, but the way this was done was more reflective of Mother’s own experience I guess where she also did not really know.
There were a few other elements which I would’ve liked to see, especially from Monster’s perspective. And I also feel that some elements didn’t entirely make sense in context of other elements of the story. For example, I mean where did Monster come from in the first place. How had she survived so long and why was she in the situation of being completely unable to speak? Maybe the timeline wasn’t clear enough for me but it seemed like the sickness hadn’t been going on for a HUGE amount of time (like I’m talking years) by the time Mother began exploring, so given that Monster was found in her early teens or so, this doesn’t make sense to me. Especially given that Monster seemed to have some memories of before meeting Mother from interacting with other people, why wouldn’t she speak?
Maybe I’m just being picky, but it felt a bit plot-holey to me.
The end also dragged just a touch for me and got a little repetitive.
But OTHERWISE it was a very well done and unique story, with excellently developed characters. Just a few bits missing for me.
The development of the relationship between the two main characters was probably my favourite thing about the book, with Monster very slowly coming to terms with the fact that Mother wasn’t the person she seemed to be initially. And the twist towards the end of Monster becoming pregnant was really surprising to me, but it worked really well in the end. It maybe wasn’t where I thought the story should’ve gone, but maybe it being predictable with Monster running away for good would’ve been too obvious.
The worldbuilding with the sickness was interesting. I would’ve liked to see a bit more about what actually happened and the context surrounding it, but the way this was done was more reflective of Mother’s own experience I guess where she also did not really know.
There were a few other elements which I would’ve liked to see, especially from Monster’s perspective. And I also feel that some elements didn’t entirely make sense in context of other elements of the story. For example, I mean where did Monster come from in the first place. How had she survived so long and why was she in the situation of being completely unable to speak? Maybe the timeline wasn’t clear enough for me but it seemed like the sickness hadn’t been going on for a HUGE amount of time (like I’m talking years) by the time Mother began exploring, so given that Monster was found in her early teens or so, this doesn’t make sense to me. Especially given that Monster seemed to have some memories of before meeting Mother from interacting with other people, why wouldn’t she speak?
Maybe I’m just being picky, but it felt a bit plot-holey to me.
The end also dragged just a touch for me and got a little repetitive.
But OTHERWISE it was a very well done and unique story, with excellently developed characters. Just a few bits missing for me.