Review ~ The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

TITLE: The Monstrumologist

AUTHOR: Rick Yancey
COPYRIGHT: 2010
TYPE: Young Adult
PAGES: 454
SERIES:  Yes

1. The Monstrumologist

2. The Curse of the Wendigo

3. The Isle of Blood

4. The Final Descent

REASON FOR READ:

They actually looked very interesting and I just couldn’t help myself. To add to the fact that I enjoyed The 5^th Wave that Mr. Yancey wrote so I thought I would try his other series.

SUMMARY (from the back of the book):

Monsters are Real

Will Henry is the orphan apprentice of a doctor with an unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. When a midnight visitor brings them the body of a young girl entwined with the corpse of an Anthropophagus, it is the start of the most mysterious case of Will Henry’s life. Anthropophagi are headless monsters whose razor – sharp teeth are in their stomachs - and they are supposed to be extinct in this part of the world. Now Will and the monstrumologist are in a race against time to put a stop to the plague of monsters before they kill again.

THOUGHTS/OPINION:

Who are the MAJOR Characters?
Will Henry (12 year old orphan) apprentice

Dr. Pellinore Warthrop the monstrumologist

Who are the MINOR Characters?

Dr. Starr

Mrs. Bratton

Alistair Warthrop (in memories)

Captain Varner

Erasmus Gray (grave digger)

Father and Mother of Will Henry (in memories)

Dr. Karnes (way to many alias to mention)

Malachi Stinnet (the preacher’s son whose family is killed)

Constable Morgan

Numerous unnamed men who hunt the monsters

The narrator at the beginning (Rick Yancey)

What is this story about?

This is a diary of young Will Henry and his life living with Dr. Warthrop. We learn about numerous different monsters but this particular story centers around an Anthropophagi. We are lead to believe in the beginning that the author (Rick Yancey) has been given these diaries from a man in a nursing home to help discover who “Will Henry” really is. From there we are sucked into the world of Will Henry as he attempts to discover who he is, why he has ended up here in this home, what it all means, and survive as he grows into the role of assistant to the monstumologist.

When is this story taking place? 1888

Where are we at during this story? New Jerusalem

Why is the character acting the way he is or why is this happening? These are the diaries of Will Henry so it is a way for Will Henry to come to terms of his environment.

How does it get resolved (SPOILERS MAY BE INCLUDED)

Boy howdy things pick up with the Stinnet’s deads. Karnes shows up to help hunt the Anthropophagi this leads to an interesting if you will “final” show down. The mystery gets wrapped up in a neat yet rather dirty way.

Will there be another? Yes the next in the series is called The Curse of the Wendigo

Favorite part or line from story: I have to admit the favorite part for me was the end. It was so suspenseful that I couldn’t put it down until I knew if they were successful in their hunt or not. Who would die or who wouldn’t (I won’t spoil it and give it away) but stick with this b/c it only builds in plot.

Overall thoughts:

I was a little taken back at the sheer amount of gore and description of the monsters and the blood for the age range this book is focused on . That being said OMG I absolutely enjoyed every single second of it and couldn’t wait to read it. It was pure torture to walk away to do things. I stayed up until 2 reading this and that in itself is very rare. I definitely can’t wait to read the next one

FINALGRADES:
Plot/Story: A It was engaging enough that it kept you hook. I wanted to know what would happen next to Will Henry. This story was good pace, the times I felt like it could drag another character was brought in that helped moved the story forward.

Character Development: A Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop made this story really work. Their chemistry and reliance on each other as the story progressed became the key to making this relationship work. Will Henry is the main character that you connect with and I felt tired when he did, horror when he did, and sheer emotional breaking when he did. Mr. Yancey did a great job making the reader connect to Will Henry yet at the same time connect to the Dr. which at times was really hard to do. The characters also grew throughout this book which gives me hope that they will continue to progress as the series goes on

Emotional Reaction: A As I stated above I was very attached to the characters and felt the emotions that they felt especially Will Henry.

Final Grade: A

Would you recommend this story? Yes I highly recommend it.

Is this a part of a reading challenge? My yearly challenge.