Review Detail

In this spooky sequel, young Marius the monster hunter pursues new monsters roaming about his hometown, this time with the help of his not-so-long-lost mother, recently back from the dead. While Marius couldn’t be happier to be reunited and have a partner in the family business, everything is not back to normal, and he can’t ignore the strange things happening around his mom…and they’re getting more creepy and frequent every day.

This is an action-driven, monster-packed adventure. Set in the murky wilds of Louisiana, there’s elements of classic spookiness, including deals with disreputable traders, graveyard shenanigans, and oblivious classmates who don’t know the danger but think Marius’s notoriety is Super Cool.

One of my favorite pieces of magic is the book Marius uses to trap monsters. The idea of facing off against something with fangs and claws with only the book is super cool, feels straight out of a movie, and also terrifying all in one. And yeah, it definitely appeals to the Pokemon collector in me to watch Marius collecting this book of beasties.

The monsters aside, this book is a little light on world-building overall. It is a sequel, so most readers are already coming in with an idea of the setting, but it’d still be nice to answer some questions. How much do “normal” people know about monsters? Did anyone other than Marius notice when his mom came back? Are hunters common or rare?

Pick this up for middle grade adventure/horror with a focus on friendship and making tomorrow better than today.