The author has created a humorous tale about a carnival of friendly
monsters. Kevin is the main character, and he’s a good vampire, so regular expectations
don’t apply to him. He’s surrounded by many different kinds of creatures with
“normal” personalities and behaviors. He has a pet… something that’s not a dog,
but he calls it Dog. Dog behaves much like “normal” pets, but one of his jobs
is to be the carnival’s garbage disposal. The last page of many
chapters displays interesting “facts” about the various monsters. For example,
Dog’s page suggested you don’t let him lick your face. Some chapters follow
Susie, who lives with her two aunts. The aunts are humorous characters, as
their desire to control Susie is over the top. Susie’s daily to-do list begins
with “Sleep”, “Wake up, lazy”, “Sweep floors now!”, and “Make us breakfast.”
The author builds anticipation by referring to the monster
in the mountain as the You-Know-What. This ambiguous name doesn’t provide any
clues regarding what kind of dangers it might bring. The people don’t provide
any clues about what it’s done in the past or why it’s so terrible. Readers
will assume it must be really frightening, since all of the townspeople are
terrified that it might return. It’s also the reason the town won’t welcome any
monsters at all. The mayor is happy that the town is quiet and boring, since it
kept You-Know-What from attacking for over seventy years. However, there’s no
evidence that the town can protect itself from any dangers.
What didn’t work as well:
The book requires a tolerance for silliness. There are “serious”
scenes in the story, but then something silly will be added. For example, hiding
from a monster and then falling into its toilet. Also, the book doesn’t
spend much time on character
development.
The final verdict:
The plot has a clear storyline, and it even gives readers things
to think about, namely tolerance for those who are different. It’s probably
not for upper middle-grade readers, but I suggest you try it for yourself.
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