Little Monsters

Meg March lives with her three sisters in Salem, Massachusetts, where they are cared for by foster mother, Marmee. They have had a lot of placements, all in Salem, but they have never worked out particularly well. It doesn't help that Meg o manifests sharp teeth and long claws when stressed, Jo becomes covered in fur, Amy is part mermaid and struggles with issues when she gets near seawater, and young Beth has bat wings. As Halloween approaches, Meg wants to fulfill her sister's wishes for costumes, even though this means caring for chickens for Mr. Laurence next door. His grandson, Laurie, lives with him, and is Jo's best friend, and a young John Brooke, whose parents can't care for him, lives there as well. Brooks (as he is known) sees Meg with her sharp teeth when they run into each other in the woods by their houses, but doesn't doesn't bother her about it. Meg is fortunate to have a very caring friend in Sally, who is always supportive, but is frequently bullied by the well-to-do Annie and her brother Ned Moffat. There is an animal on the loose in Salem who is eating chickens and destroying property, and Meg starts to worry that she is the one doing these things when she wakes up covered in dirt, with no memory of being outside. With security cameras all around town, she's concerned that there are videos of her transforming into a monster. She even breaks into Annie's house to try to retrieve footage, and finds that Annie might not be treated very well. Occasionally, Meg does things she isn't supposed to do, like staying out late, but Marmee never gets upset; she tries to support Meg, even helping her save favorite breakfast foods that her sisters usually take. Meg doesn't understand why Marmee is so supportive, and still feels that it is her job to provide for her sisters and take care of them. Brooks is also always on Meg's side, and helps her out frequently. Meg does go to the public library to research monsters in Salem after hearing that there are more monsters around than one would suspect, but still feels it is important to hide her true self. When the monster attacks result in Ned being hospitalized, the townspeople gather pitchforks and torches to go after the monster. Meg finds out surprising information about Marmee, and doesn't know quite whom to trust. Is hiding her true self and never asking help the best way for her to live her life as a monster?

What worked:
Many books feature main characters that change into creatures, but this book has four sisters suffering through the transformations. Meg is the main character, and stress causes her teeth to become long and pointy and her nails to grow into long claws. With anxiety being her catalyst, readers will find it difficult to predict when she’ll experience another episode. Jo becomes hairy during full moons, although she’s distressed at school one day when she grows fur and sprouts a tail. Meg comes to her rescue. However, that morning, Meg woke up in the woods with no recollection of how or why she ended up there. Readers will wonder if Meg is the new monster everyone at school is gossiping about. The author’s descriptions in the book will make readers wonder if the monster problem is bigger than they think.
As the oldest sister, Meg feels responsible for her younger siblings. They’ve been in many different foster homes, and she feels the need to look after them. This situation puts a lot of pressure on Meg’s character, as she struggles with the duty while trying to be a normal thirteen-year-old girl. What would it feel like to do things she wants to do, when she wants to? Adding to her angst is a prying boy living next door who may know about her secret. She tries to avoid him, but another classmate is now very interested in researching monsters for a school project. Even Meg’s best friend is excited about rumors of a new monster in Salem. Meg can’t trust anyone with her family’s secret.
Readers will be curious about Brooks, the new neighbor living next door. He arrives from out of the blue, and the monster sightings begin around the same time. He’s been nothing but nice to Meg, but she still suspects he’s up to something. Brooks finds things she’s left in the woods and covers for her when she can’t remember where she’s been. Does he know about her transformations? Annie, the pestering classmate, says she has video proof that Meg is a monster, and she’s threatening Meg with it. Is Annie telling the truth, or is it a ploy to aggravate Meg? The mystery of the monster terrorizing Salem carries the plot, and the solution may surprise readers. It surprises Meg!
What didn’t work as well:
Parts of the plot get redundant in the book’s first half. Meg constantly sprouts pointy teeth and claws in compromising situations, followed by efforts to conceal them from others. The cause of her family’s more frequent changes should be apparent to readers, but Meg and her sisters don’t notice. There could be fewer episodes of transformations, so the conflict surrounding Salem and monsters can develop sooner.
The final verdict:
Readers do not need to have read Little Women before reading this book. Meg has familiar, middle-grade issues that will connect with young readers, along with the attraction of monsters. I recommend you try the book for yourself!