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A review by faemorgan
Monster by C.J. Skuse
4.0
When I first read the blurb of this book, I thought it about actual beast and monsters, like a very bad haunting inside the boarding school where the book is set; that could kill you both inside the school and outside. As I read the lines “There are things out there, real things that we need to worry about. There are your beasts, there are your monsters…” and “As a blizzard rages outside, strange things are afoot in the school’s dark, dangerous hallways.”
Getting into the book, we are introduced to the main character Nash, who is dealing with the crisis of a missing brother and the stressing drama of everyone knowing, fighting to be Head Girl and beef of school bully; Clarice. As a result of Clarice pushing the bullying of Nash’s missing brother too far after she’s shown up by Nash; the title of Head Girl is passed on to someone else. What’s worst is that Nash has started seeing this creature in the trees of the school, which Regan another unpopular girl is convinced it’s the Bathory Beast.
The story is set around the all-girls boarding school, Bathory to which a group of girls are stuck in the school for the Christmas Holiday’s until their parents arrive to collect them. Things begin to get really strange and dangerous, with some girls keeping secrets, a storm outside, their caretaker teacher missing and the phone no longer working. They have to try and survive until someone arrives, but they’re unsure exactly what they are surviving.
My favourite character is Nash because she is a relatable character with the many pressures of trying to be the perfect girl and yourself in a full school of girls. She’s level-headed, but still acts how you’d expect a teenager to react in the situation that she’s in and does her best to push the fear of an actual beast to protect the Pup, Tabby against Clarice and her friends in the school.
I would recommend the book, the tension mixed with the sass and comedy are amazing. The plot twist of who/ what the danger actually is in the story immediately hooks you more to the story and the heart-warming reunion at the end of the book, with the slight sense of mystery still around the legend of the Beast of Bathory, where only two girls know the actual truth of what the beast is. In total, I would rate this book 4 stars.
Getting into the book, we are introduced to the main character Nash, who is dealing with the crisis of a missing brother and the stressing drama of everyone knowing, fighting to be Head Girl and beef of school bully; Clarice. As a result of Clarice pushing the bullying of Nash’s missing brother too far after she’s shown up by Nash; the title of Head Girl is passed on to someone else. What’s worst is that Nash has started seeing this creature in the trees of the school, which Regan another unpopular girl is convinced it’s the Bathory Beast.
The story is set around the all-girls boarding school, Bathory to which a group of girls are stuck in the school for the Christmas Holiday’s until their parents arrive to collect them. Things begin to get really strange and dangerous, with some girls keeping secrets, a storm outside, their caretaker teacher missing and the phone no longer working. They have to try and survive until someone arrives, but they’re unsure exactly what they are surviving.
My favourite character is Nash because she is a relatable character with the many pressures of trying to be the perfect girl and yourself in a full school of girls. She’s level-headed, but still acts how you’d expect a teenager to react in the situation that she’s in and does her best to push the fear of an actual beast to protect the Pup, Tabby against Clarice and her friends in the school.
I would recommend the book, the tension mixed with the sass and comedy are amazing. The plot twist of who/ what the danger actually is in the story immediately hooks you more to the story and the heart-warming reunion at the end of the book, with the slight sense of mystery still around the legend of the Beast of Bathory, where only two girls know the actual truth of what the beast is. In total, I would rate this book 4 stars.