Mini-Review: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; 1 Reprint edition (July 20, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1416984496
• Source: Big Honcho Media

The year is 1888.  Young Will Henry has been under the care of Pellinore Warthrop since his parents were killed in a horrible fire.  Warthrop is a Monstrumologist, a scientist who studies monsters. The unlikely pair are hunting Anthropophagi-horrible headless creatures complete with a mouth full of sharp teeth in their abdomen.

The Monstrumologist is true gothic horror at its finest.  Think Charles Dickens meets Mary Shelley Frankenstein meets Sherlock Holmes.  Yancey’s writing is eloquent, full of descriptive prose.  Labeled as YA, The Monstrumolgist is a completely unique addition this genre. The language is not simple, but forces the reader to truly concentrate and absorb the words from the pages.  I found myself looking up terms and phrases; it truly is a book you will learn a great deal from.  There is a bit of gore, but it is not gratuitous in the least bit.

The characters add a great detail to the story as well.  Will Henry is still reeling from his parents death.  He is desperate for love, affection, but Warthrop’s stoic, scientific nature hides all emotion.  Both Warthrop & Henry carry guilt for their father’s actions; Warthrop’s father is responsible for the Anthropophagi outbreak, Henry’s father’s obsession with his job as Warthrop’s confidant is so strong that it literally destroys him and his family.

Sick of hearing about Twilight but desperate for monsters?  This is the book for you!

Check back later this week for my review of the sequel of the second book in the Monstrumoloigst series, The Curse of the Wendigo.