Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books, February 10th 2015
Genre: MG, Fantasy
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Source: HarperCollins, via Edelweiss
The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark.
Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.
Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre.
And what he knows will change Kym’s life.
Reminiscent of Frankenstein and the tales of the Brothers Grimm, this debut novel by MarcyKate Connolly stands out as a compelling, original story that has the feel of a classic.
Monstrous is a story of self-discovery, friendship, and monsters. It tells of Kymera, a young girl who has been brought back from the dead by her scientist father, with the parts and weapons of animals - wings, tail, etc. - with a purpose, to save all the young girls of her city that were killed in the same way she was.
I liked that the overall message of this book was monsters are people, too, and that not all monsters are bad. Some are unaware of their bad deeds, some strive to be good, but others are plain irredeemable. Other elements of this story I enjoyed were: Kymera saving herself, as ladies should always be able to, Kymera being a very capable and smart girl, the friendship between Ren and Kymera, and I especially loved the bond between Kymera and Batu (curse that ending!)
I would have rated this book a half star higher had the final, lasting message of Monstrous not been that monsters don't get happily ever afters, even when they have given everything they have to being good people, even when socially acceptable girls (sideyes Delia here) get to be happy and live without doing half as much in the way of good. But I suppose that is how life goes.
Overall: a great book with heartfelt relationships and an underlying message that even monsters are capable of being good - just a kinda crappy ending.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world building ★★★☆☆
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