Review: The Monster Who Wasn't


Most of us have believed in monsters at some point in our lives, whether metaphorically or from when we believed they dwelt underneath our beds and behind our bedroom doors. This extraordinary middle grade fiction not only reignites the notion that we coexist with all manner of devilish beasts, it bravely intimates that not all of them are bad. Could there be some that fall somewhere in between good and bad? Is it possible to love a monster?

Sam hatches one fateful night in the vast underground lair where all monsters dwell and begin. He is a curious and inexplicable creation never before seen by the noxious collection of pixies, ogres and trolls. Resembling something of an imp, the grumpy gargoyles adopt him as one of their own. Displaced and unexplained, Imp (aka Sam) learns more and more about his new world with each passing minute, however not the answer to his existence; why he looks like a human but behaves like a monster.

From atop his cathedral spire home, Sam adapts to gargoyle ways, meets Daniel, an ethereal angel and integrates himself into the world of humans during his quests for chocolate (for the greedy gargoyles). It's in May's chocolate shop that Sam encounters a pair of humans who set the next chapter of his story in mind-swirling motion.

If monsters are breathed into being through a human's last sigh and their vileness is proportionate to the depth of a the sigher's regret, what then happens when that sigh is 'contaminated' with a baby's first laugh? Sam is about to find out.

Throw Thunderguts, the evil ogre king with malicious plans for Sam into mix and all manner of other monstrosities bent on hunting him down (and possibly eating him) and you have a tale throbbing with thrills, spills and some very badly broken gargoyles.

The Monster Who Wasn't is an exhilarating and surprisingly tender rollercoaster ride through the foulest cesspools of monsterdom all the way back to the stars and beyond. T C Shelley's poetic prose transports readers to imaginative extremes in completely plausible ways. My views on gargoyles who infest ancient buildings with abhorrent demeanors and dispositions for example has been soundly challenged; so much so, I wish I could scale sheer walls as easily as they.

And although the action is pulse-racingly palpable and the language deliciously evocative, there is plenty of purpose layered into this story. Monsters move in packs; family unity is exemplified through a pack's loyalty to one another no matter what they look or sound like. Shelley proves (monster) blood is thicker than slimy water and means even more when heart and soul flavour the soup of one's character. We are persuaded that not all that appears bad is rotten; it is the core of a thing that matters most, even if this is not immediately noticeable. Conversely, all that sparkles (except for babies) is not necessarily good; beware of appearances and mollifying words, of hearing only that which you want to hear.

There is so much more to take away from this novel but ultimately its success is due to its tangible magic and ability to entertain all the way to the end. Full marks for this fantasy tale and extra merit for allowing monsters to matter because I think it is possible to love a monster. I certainly loved this one.

Title: The Monster Who Wasn’t
Author: T C Shelley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, $14.99
Publication Date: August 2019
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781526600837
For ages: 9+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

Buy the Book: Bloomsbury Australia, Booktopia

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Goldfish Boy

Image
Twelve-year-old Matthew Corbin is your regular pre-teen boy living in an unspectacular cul-de-sac deep in British suburbia. The major difference between him and the other inhabitants of Chestnut Close however is the state of his red-raw hands and tortured mind and the fact that he barely steps outside his terraced-home second story bedroom. Matthew is afflicted with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD and can barely function as a result. From his fishbowl vantage point, Matthew keeps track of his neighbours, dutifully recording their every movement, their comings and goings, and their habitual rituals in his notebooks. In this way we are introduced to the residents and their characteristic irks and quirks from the get go in a way that is both intriguing and comical. Matthew’s observations allude to his condition; he is both analytical and detailed in his approach. The orderliness of his notations suggest a mind used to repetition and accuracy, an intense desire to ‘get things r
Read more

Review: My Shadow Is Pink

Image
What are little boys made of? Is it really frogs and snails ; everything that is not sugar and spice and all things nice that are otherwise attributed to the makeup of girls? Should blue be the only shade that maketh the man? Debut author illustrator, Scott Stuart blows these outdated tropes well and truly out of the water with this deliriously amusing and tender picture book, My Shadow is Pink . Our intrepid main character’s little face is a picture of consternation after he concedes that his shadow is not the strong blue that trails the other males in his family. His is a delicate shade of rose and mirrors that which he loves most: sparkles, dancing, twirling and dressing up. Despite his father’s reassurances that his shadow will adopt a more ‘manly’ appearance one of these days , and the little boy’s own yearning to fit in with the other acceptable shadow groups, he is unable to dismiss his conflicting feelings. Then one day an invitation to let his shadow dress up in its favour
Read more

Christmas Countdown Day 3 - The Grandest Bookshop in the World

Image
The Grandest Bookshop in the World It’s something I’ve always wanted to do – live in a bookshop and be surrounded by the magic of words and other spellbinding things, like cake. Siblings Pearl and Vally Cole are living that dream. But it’s not just any old bookshop; it’s the Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne. Their fantastical story germinates from their father’s own stirring rags to riches tale and meanders closely to the actual chronological time line of the eccentric Edward Cole, founder of Coles Book Arcade in the late 1800s. The key thing to remember be you staff, family member or patron of the Arcade is that buying a book is secondary to enjoying your visitation. Customers are encouraged to relax, read, dine on tantalising fare, wander through the exotic gardens harbouring monkeys, or perhaps select a curious toy for a well-behaved youngster. These fascinations really did exist and in the Cole children’s thrilling tale form the critical backdrops to their chilling (fictional) a
Read more