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Review: Monster Locker by Jorge Aguirre and Andrés Vera Martínez

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Monster Locker by Jorge Aguirre and Andrés Vera Martínez

Monster Locker (Monster Locker #1)
Jorge Aguirre
Illustrated by Andrés Vera Martínez
First Second
Published October 1, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Monster Locker

In this first volume of a thrilling middle grade graphic novel series, a sixth-grader named Pablo discovers his locker is a portal to the realm of monsters!

For hundreds of years, something in the basement of Glenfield Middle School has waited for its chance to open a portal into the realm of monsters. Now its time has come, and the school is going to need a hero. Pablo Ortiz . . . isn’t that guy. All he wants to do is lie low and get through middle school in one piece. So when Pablo accidentally opens the portal and summons a vengeful Aztec goddess, he’ll need the butt-kicking skills of his new friends and the wisdom passed down by his abuela to take her on.

My Review

I enjoyed Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre, so when this one arrived in my mailbox, I was already looking forward to reading it. The concept is fun: a locker that is actually a portal to the monster world and summons Nahua monsters, and only three middle school students can stop them from taking over the world.

Pablo is very much an underdog. He worries about bullies and feels isolated. He has an interesting relationship with his grandmother, who seems to have one foot in the here and now and the other in the days of her Mexican childhood.

The story deftly weaves together modern characters with Nahuatl words and phrases, along with Aztec deities and monsters. Pablo and his two new friends, Takashi and Maggie, stand at the center of the story, with the fate of the whole world resting on their middle school shoulders.

The plotline requires some willing suspension of disbelief, but it rewards readers with quirky characters, oddball humor, and action-packed monster battles. This is a fun one to check out if you’re looking for a fall title that fits the feel of the Halloween season but could be enjoyed year round.

Content Notes in Monster Locker

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Pablo and his family are Nahua and American. Takashi is Japanese American and possibly also Jewish. (He uses Yiddish words.) Maggie is Jamaican American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Pablo accidentally opens a portal to the monster world and summons the Aztec goddess Coatlique. She demands tribute and releases monsters into Pablo’s school, causing havoc.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battles between monsters and humans.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

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Rust in the Root
Justina Ireland
Balzer + Bray
Published September 20, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Rust in the Root

The author of the visionary New York Times bestseller Dread Nation returns with another spellbinding historical fantasy set at the crossroads of race and power in America.

It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided—between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology—otherwise known as Mechomancy—not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura disagrees. A talented young mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license and becoming something more than a rootworker

But six months later, she’s got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.

As they’re sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country’s oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America’s past, when Black mages were killed for their power—work that could threaten Laura’s and the Skylark’s lives, and everything they’ve worked for.

My Review

I’ve been really wanting to read a book by Justina Ireland for a long time. I’d heard amazing things about DREAD NATION, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. When I got an opportunity to read RUST IN THE ROOT, I couldn’t pass it up– and I’m so glad I didn’t!

Reimagined history can be one of the coolest types of stories to read. I loved the way this book took historical figures and events and reimagined them through the lens of magic in the world. The connection between Jim Crow laws and the oppression of Black magic. The way oppression would get repackaged and repurposed. It was awful, but it fit the history.

I also loved the characters. The story is told from both Laura and the Skylark’s perspectives. The bulk of the story is from Laura’s point of view, but there are snippets of records that the Skylark would have submitted to her superiors interspersed between chapters. Usually following those snippets, we’d get a scene from the Skylark’s viewpoint. I liked getting both perspectives.

Also– the tree with “strange fruit”– I felt like that hit me right in the gut. Wow. What a powerful reference and another moment where magic and history intersected in this incredibly moving way.

On the whole, I loved the reimagined history, and I think fans of The Great Library series by Rachel Caine or THE RING AND THE CROWN by Melissa de la Cruz would love RUST IN THE ROOT. I think fans of CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi or SONG BELOW WATER by Bethany C. Morrow would love this book, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Black. Laura is attracted to women. Two boys (minor characters) are in a secret romantic relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Laura discusses how the existence of magic played a role in religion– namely that magic was responsible for resurrections in different faiths.

Violent Content
References to murder. Situations of peril. Some battle scenes.

Drug Content
Laura mentions a time as a little girl that she drank alcohol as an illustration for feeling drunk when she encounters a type of magic.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of RUST IN THE ROOT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef by Michael D. Beil

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The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef
Michael D. Beil
Pixel + Ink
Published February 1, 2022

Amazon  | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wreck at Ada’s Reef

Twelve-year-old Lark Heron-Finch is steeling herself to spend the summer on Swallowtail Island off the shores of Lake Erie. It’s the first time that she and her sister will have seen the old house since their mom passed away. And while her stepfather and his boys are okay, the island’s always been full of happy memories–and now everything is different.

When Nadine, a close family friend, tells Lark about a tragic boat accident that happened off the coast many years before, Lark’s enthralled with the story. Nadine’s working on a book about Dinah Purdy, Swallowtails’s oldest resident who had a connection to the crash, and she’s sure that the accident was not as it appeared. Impressed by Lark’s keen eye, she hires her as her research assistant for the summer.

And then Lark discovers something amazing. Something that could change Dinah’s life. Something linked to the crash and even to her own family’s history with Swallowtail. But there are others on the island who would do anything to keep the truth buried in the watery depths of the past.

A compelling and complex mystery with a classic feel, WRECK AT ADA’S REEF is perfect for fans of THE PARKER INHERITANCE, HOLES, THE WESTING GAME, and anyone looking for a satisfying puzzle that stretches across decades.

My Review

Confession: I haven’t read any of the books that the blurb compares this one to, so I had no idea whether I would like it going in. I tend to enjoy mysteries with a young narrator (see my reviews of THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE or THREE TIMES LUCKY), so I figured this was a pretty good gamble.

And, you know what? It totally was. It takes place on this small island. The residents we meet are all really distinct characters who bring a lot to the story. I loved the relationships Lark develops between the other islanders. I also loved watching her connections with her family members change and grow, too.

Lark is a no-nonsense girl who doesn’t back down from a fight, ever, so when she stumbles onto an unsolved mystery that might have hurt the people she’s coming to care about, she’s ready to put the full force of her personality behind uncovering the truth.

I thought the pacing of the story was great, too. There’s a lot of tension as we begin to put the pieces together about what happened at Ada’s Reef that long ago night. Interspersed with the tension are sweet moments with Lark and her stepdad as well as silly moments with her and her siblings or other characters.

All together, I’m pretty hooked on this series so far. I loved this book and would absolutely read more about Swallowtail Island and its inhabitants. I think fans of middle grade mysteries like the books I mentioned above or the Northwoods mystery books by Margi Preus would really enjoy WRECK AT ADA’S REEF.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Lark is white and an orphan. A couple minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
At one desperate point, Lark states that she’s not religious, but offers a prayer to whatever gods are listening.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WRECK AT ADA’S REEF in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Hollow Inside by Brooke Lauren Davis

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Hollow Inside
Brooke Lauren Davis
Bloomsbury YA
Published May 25, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Hollow Inside

Phoenix and mom Nina have spent years on the road, using their charm and wits to swindle and steal to get by. Now they’ve made it to their ultimate destination, Mom’s hometown of Jasper Hollow. The plan: bring down Ellis Bowman, the man who ruined Nina’s life.

After Phoenix gets caught spying, she spins a convincing story that inadvertently gives her full access to the Bowman family. As she digs deeper into their secrets, she finds herself entrenched in the tale of a death and a disappearance that doesn’t entirely line up with what Mom has told her. Who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth?

My Review

So much happens in this book. Every time I felt like I knew what was going to happen, new things surfaced and I had to recalculate my predictions. I wasn’t sure at first that I’d like Phoenix. She seemed like a really hard person at the beginning, but it wasn’t long before I started to see how much she was fighting to keep her world together and how much she wanted to be a good person.

I liked the way THE HOLLOW INSIDE is set in this small town with these larger-than-life personalities: the bestselling author and town hero; the fire and brimstone preacher who just might have a soft heart underneath his judgmental, controlling exterior; the snarky, outsider daughter and her loveable, sweet brother. It was easy to picture them in the little town sprawling out from a roundabout with a huge tree at its center.

You’ve probably already guessed that this is a pretty dark, angsty story. And it is! It’s suspenseful and twisty. Phoenix finds herself caught in a tug-of-war between uncovering the truth and delivering revenge. For the most part, I got completely swept up in the drama and emotions of the story.

In one part, though, a character does something drastic really publicly and says he has to do it because he has to silence someone. I was kind of confused because, like, that scene happened in public? I couldn’t see how his decision would actually do anything but create a bigger mess, so I didn’t understand why he did what he did. I guess it was really supposed to be a desperate move and maybe he was supposed to be pushed so far he wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m not sure. I liked the rest of the story well enough that I really just rolled with that scene and moved on to what came next.

On the whole, there were a lot of things I liked in THE HOLLOW INSIDE. I think readers who enjoy dark books like SADIE or THE PROJECT by Courtney Summers will like this story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Phoenix is a lesbian. Another character is also a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and making out between two girls.

Flashbacks imply that a man and a sixteen year old girl have a sexual relationship. A later scene implies that he may have had other similar encounters and in fact be a sexual predator? That question doesn’t really get pursued in the story.

Spiritual Content
The story features a small town with a strong connection to a Christian church. Some scenes reference church services and prayer. Phoenix herself doesn’t share in their faith.

Violent Content
It’s implied that a man hit a woman, but it happens off-scene. Phoenix hits a man and knocks him unconscious after getting caught robbing his house.

Some homophobic comments about a girl in town who was caught kissing another girl.

A car accident kills a teenage boy who was perhaps crossing the street. Another car accident kills a man when his car goes off road and down the mountainside. A sign falls, nearly injuring someone. An object smashes through a window, spraying a family with glass. A man with a severe allergy is stung by bees multiple times.

A person with a gun confronts a crowd. Someone in the crowd is shot.

Drug Content
One minor character has a drinking problem and is drunk in multiple scenes. Phoenix and her friends drink wine at a dinner party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of THE HOLLOW INSIDE in exchange for my honest review.