Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Little Monsters

This story is about the Gardner family in Cape Cod. Adam, Ken, & Abby are a family of three, as Emily unexpectedly passed when Abby was born.
Adam, the father, is nearing his 70th birthday. He is a well-known scientist / oceanographer, and he loves humpback whales. As he nears retirement, he is trying to have one final “breakthrough” to feel relevant and useful again. He, however, has bipolar disorder, and he has purposefully been messing with his dosages in his pursuit to achieve the perfect mania state to make a breakthrough.
Ken and Abby, the siblings, are adults now. Ken is married to Abby’s best friend, and he had two twin girls. He only cares about money and success, and he is a jerk. He has done well in business, and he hopes to get into politics. On the flip side, Abby is an artist, and she is very talented. She has a dog, and she lives in her art studio.
Another main character is Steph, who believes she may be Adam’s daughter, and she is there for the summer to learn more about her new family members .

MY THOUGHTS

Well-written story + good character development
Family drama with complex relationships set in Cape Cod
Medium pacing
Ahhh, I couldn’t handle Ken’s character. He was awful, but the author did write the character well. In fact, the author did a great job portraying many male characters in the book. Many have troubling attitudes toward women.
One of my favorite things about the book was the contrast between the men and the women. The men act entitled, emotionally stunted, misogynistic, and lacking. The women, particularly Abby & Steph, act capable, emotionally mature, smart, & resilient.
The exploration of an aging father’s inability to emotionally connect with his kids was fascinating, too.
There are some triggering topics that are revealed in the plot, so I would recommend looking up triggers if you are trying to avoid anything in particular.
I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, and I was able to picture the setting.
The ending was pretty abrupt, and I was disappointed that some things were left unresolved. I would have liked more of a resolution with Adam’s mental health & a confrontation between Ken and Abby. For that reason, I am giving this one 4 stars, instead of 5.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️family drama with complex relationships in Cape Cod. overall, really enjoyed it, but ending was abrupt.

Content Warnings

laurenabeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Adrienne Brodeur’s writing is some of my favorite modern style, and while Little Monsters is captivating and thoughtful, I found the end to be just a bit abrupt. I was hoping for more resolution with Adam’s mental health and with the rift between siblings, but ultimately I suppose that isn’t the point of the book. Adrienne Brodeur, in general, seems to write about how the nature of love is ugly and complicated, and this book absolutely captures that. I’d recommend this, but give a strong trigger warning for mental health disorders and abuse.

Content Warnings

gondorgirl's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

piperca's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

It was fine. Family drama, secrets, and complex relationships sound potentially entertaining, but found myself wanting to just get it over with. Contrived ending.

Content Warnings