The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist
by Rick Yancey
Simon & Schuster, NY 2009

monstrumology (n)
1. the study of life forms general malevolent to humans and not recognized by science as actual organisms, specifically those considered products of myth and folklore
2. the act of hunting such creatures (p. v)

Apprentice to the renowned Monstrumologist Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, orphan Will Henry is accustomed to the macabre studies of his master. But when a grave digger delivers the body of a young woman to the doctor, the boy must push aside his horror and disgust in order to assist the monster hunter as he dissects the Anthropophagus (headless monster) who chocked to death eating the dead girl. And, as all monstrumologists know, where there's one Anthropophagi, there's 35. Unfortunately for Will Henry, the malodorous creatures are quite hungry. 

I've been watching horror movies since I was eight (Nightmare on Elm Street) and reading horror novels (Chain Letter) since I was about the same age. Basically, it takes a lot to freak me out. Not only did this book give me nightmares and a general sense of unease, it grossed me out completely. Well done Rick Yancey. Well done.

Bottom Line:

Fantastically gory and scary; Step to, readers!

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Scribner, NY 2005 

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. (p. 3)

In this memoir, Walls tells of her turbulent childhood (which included sustaining 3^rd degree burns as she prepared a dinner of hot dogs for herself at the age of 3) with a matter-of-fact style that carries the reader safely through her dangerous childhood. Scenes from this book replay in my mind, like Walls' ejection from the family car, and her haunting description of the family home on Battle Mountain. Though there was no question of who was to blame for her crazy upbringing, I enjoyed the author's ability to share her family's troubled past without pointing fingers. Walls' simply tells it like it was, allowing readers to absorb the craziness that was her childhood.

Bottom Line:

An inspiring story of willpower.  If Jeannette Walls can achieve success and leave a past this troubled behind, I can surely get through my daily to do list without complaining.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press, NY 2008

The seas have risen and North America is divided into 12 Districts ruled by the all-powerful Capitol. The poor Districts provide goods to the wealthy Capitol and once a year, as a reminder of the failed uprising of now-extinct District 13, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games. Two teens, a boy and a girl, from each district are chosen for the nationally televised reality show in which the contestants, or Tributes, fight to the death. The last Tribute left standing receives a lifetime supply of food and shelter for themselves and their families. District 12's Tribute, Katniss Everdeen is a born survivor. The sole provider for her family, she cannot lose the Games. Peeta Mellark, her fellow Tribute from District 13, throws a kink into her plans. 

The first in a trilogy, this book is simply fantastic. Suzanne Collins' imagined future is, in a word, bleak. I was rooting for Katniss from the start, but the real question is: Team Peeta or Team Gale? (Team Peeta!!)

Bottom Line:

Read it - not because the movie is coming out in March 2012- but because the story is a truly exciting, nerve-racking, inspiring, sad, imaginative ride.