Reviews

Monsters by Emerald Fennell

artbookshelfodyssey's review

5.0

Hoooooo boy. This book is DARK. I thought I was prepared for what I was reading. I wasn't. Yowza. This is a book that stays with you long after you finish reading it. Excellent work by the author.

ashleyhosmer's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

klauds's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

leah_georgia's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

well… damn the fuck 

katykelly's review

5.0

What did I just read?! Reeling.

I don't even know where to start. A kids' book?! Well, I'm certain I won't be giving this to my 12-year-old - it's dark, disturbing AND disturbed. I saw a recommendation for it, and it was the sort of thing I like. But it certainly wasn't what I was expecting.

12-year-old.... Unnamed Girl... tells us about her summer in Cornwall. Since the death of her parents she lives with her grandmother but spends her summers with an aunt and uncle who run their own hotel in Fowey. This summer, the usual boredom and routines are broken when dead girls start to appear on the beach.

The narrator and a boy staying at the hotel with his overbearing, mollycoddling mother - Miles - becomes her 'partner in crime' as they investigate.

Now that sounds quite usual with a touch of quirky. That doesn't begin to describe how dark this turns. But that's all I'm going to say about it.

This is NOT for primary children, and I'd think twice with some older ones too, if they are going to find the subject/content upsetting. With the 'whodunnit' storyline in place as you'd expect, it's Miles and the Narrator's own characters that push this story forward, their twisted relationship and those they have with their families and people around them in the town.

I had Wicker Man vibes at times, it felt surreal and creepy and yet so summer-sunny. Quite a piece of writing. I'm glad I'm not inside the author's head though, however talented she is.

For ages 13 and above.

relright's review

4.0

So first note - I actually had to get this book delivered from the UK as it does not appear to be available in the USA even in a kindle or audiobook format. It was not difficult or expensive to do so, just an odd note about the book. This story is interesting as it centers a middle school age narrator and honestly uses youthful prose but definitely has very mature themes. It’s like a Roald Dahl book but full of murder, sexual themes, and media criticism. The book is told from the point of view of an unnamed twelve year old girl who is an orphan but spends her summers with her aunt and uncle In the run down hotel they run in a seaside village in England. She is obsessed with true crime and is bored with her routine of exploring the beaches alone until women in town start turning up drowned in the sea. She along with Miles, an odd sheltered boy her age staying with his overbearing mother in the hotel, begin investigating the town to try and find the murderer while playing an increasingly escalating game of play acting murder wherein miles is Increasingly playing the murderer and the narrator the victim - which begins to actually start hurting our narrator. But in the narrator’s desperate attempt to placate the only friend she’s ever had she acquiesces to his schemes. The whole story keeps you guessing until the end but admittedly really rushes the ending after a whole book of lead up. If you like coming of age novels and stories with lots of morally grey characters it Is definitely worth a read however.

jac_'s review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

lydiahephzibah's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Setting: UK
Rep: n/a

This a weird, twisted little book that was a remarkably quick read - I flew through it in under two hours! I loved the narration by an unnamed twelve year old who is very strange and quite a dark kid (she is highly amused by her parents being killed by a boat propellor, and she names a cat Fucko). It's a fun book!

loiereads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Coming from the director of Saltburn, I was expecting this book to be a lot more creepy and disturbing than it actually was. Don’t get met wrong, there were moments in this book that made me quite uncomfortable, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. 
It was a compelling read, and had me hooked. I flew through the first half of the book, but slowed down a little in the second half. I was expecting a slightly bigger plot twist as well, but the ending was pretty predictable. 
It definitely seems as though it’s been set up for a second book, and I would be super interested to see what happens next if there ever was a second instalment. 
However, I’m only going to give this book a 3 stars, as I was expecting a little more from it. 
Idk, I’m feeling a little picky this year 🤷🏻‍♀️

ashleywhaley's review

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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