annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Shadows of Rookhaven is the second Monsters of Rookhaven book by Pádraig Kenny. Released 11th Oct 2022 by Macmillan on their Henry Holt imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Paperback format due out in 3rd quarter 2023 from the publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an exciting and well written fantasy adventure story for middle grades (10-14 years, Lexile 660L). Following on from the events in book 1, Maribelle and her raven friend Lucius are helping the family of Rookhaven monsters with the planning of the once-per-century Great Configuration. Fate has other plans in store, when a young half-human boy stumbles into their midst.
This is very much an action driven plot with interesting and quirky characters (mostly monsters who are generally ok, and humans who are mostly monstrous). It's a fast moving and engaging story and I never found my interest waning or found myself yanked out of the story by clunky dialogue at any point.
There's a distinctly creepy gothic vibe with both the narrative and the characters. Although it's not at all derivative and the writing styles are very different, in some ways it recalls Bradbury's "Family" stories. The themes of found family, honor, love, charity, kindness, what it means to be a true friend, and the perennial struggles of good vs. evil.
The chapter heading and internal page illustrations by Annie Carbonneau-Leclerc are simple and effective and add a lot to the read.
Fans of TJ Klune and Diana Wynne Jones will likely enjoy this series as well. The book works reasonably well as a standalone, but readers who choose to read them out of order will find a large number of spoilers in this installment for occurrences in book 1.
Four stars. Enjoyable. It would make a good choice for public or school library acquisition as well as home use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.