patchworkbunny reviewed Monsters by Emerald Fennell
Review of 'Monsters' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Is this a story of two budding sociopaths or just a couple of kids with an interest in the macabre? That’s up to you to decide. I thought Miles showed more signs of sociopathy than the narrator (I apologise if she has a name but I can’t for the life of me remember it). The fact that the narrator hasn’t the same social constraints as the adults, and shares some of her less savoury thoughts, means the pages are scattered with a dark humour.
The story feels as if it’s from a different era. I think sometimes seaside tourist towns can seem trapped in the past, but there’s a clear lack of internet and mobile communication going on. It harks back to the days when children had to make their own entertainment over the summer. It helps that there is a real drama here, but you can imagine it as …
Is this a story of two budding sociopaths or just a couple of kids with an interest in the macabre? That’s up to you to decide. I thought Miles showed more signs of sociopathy than the narrator (I apologise if she has a name but I can’t for the life of me remember it). The fact that the narrator hasn’t the same social constraints as the adults, and shares some of her less savoury thoughts, means the pages are scattered with a dark humour.
The story feels as if it’s from a different era. I think sometimes seaside tourist towns can seem trapped in the past, but there’s a clear lack of internet and mobile communication going on. It harks back to the days when children had to make their own entertainment over the summer. It helps that there is a real drama here, but you can imagine it as a game they would make up. Indeed, Miles does invent a rather disturbing game of Murder where our narrator must play the victim. However it does need to at least be in the late nineties as The Lost Gardens of Heligan are no longer lost.
If you need to like the characters in order to enjoy a book, you might want to pass on this one. However I had a lot of sympathy for the narrator. It didn’t sound like her parents had a lot of time for her when they were alive and now she is a victim of abuse. My heart bled for her when her period starts and no one has ever really told her about it. At times I felt the monsters weren’t the children but the people around them.
Some of the people of the town come across a bit caricature like but it kind of adds to the charm. The styles is a little like that of a “cosy crime” mystery even if the main characters aren’t all that cosy. I’ve seen a few reviews saying it’s not for younger readers but I loved Point Horror as a pre-teen and I don’t think this is any grizzlier, though perhaps better written!
Review copy provided by publisher.