My name is Thomas Regus. I’m a prisoner in two castles.
One was built by giant ants; one constructed of lies.
I had to escape both.
Yet my single option was such a long shot it almost made me chuckle.
Make Erica chatty!
Ogres, of course, are trained from birth – not for their chatty conversational skills, but to be the best bodyguards in the wold
THOOM!
Erica, the best of the best, kicked wide my iron-braced doors. But before the hinges could rebound, she tromped into my private dining room.
Right on time.
Thomas lives a life of privilege, except when it comes to doing what he wants and learning what he wants. His tutor, Lord Boron, might as well have been called Lord Boring, so dull are his lessons. Apparently that’s just the lot of a prince who’s preparing to rule one day. Thomas breaks out of his castle prison and attends school, Monster School. Here he learns more in a day than he’s learned in months in the castle. And some of what he learns makes him suspect that Lord Boron may have been withholding information. Thomas makes friends with a rag-tag group of monsters, a cross-species collection of misfits. There’s Bruce, a giant spider, a vampire, a zombie, a mummy and a bush goblin. And then the adventures begin. Black and white illustrations throughout depict some truly monstrous characters.
DC Green has a truly frightening imagination. He has created grotesque characters and set them in a post-flood world where goblins are in charge, and humes (humans) are endangered. With unsubtle nods to the cost of ignoring climate change, he brings forth magical and horrific creatures and sets them all on the last remaining parcel of land. There they must, if not co-exist, then co-locate. Each species, and within species, each group seems to be working for themselves. Mistrust and active dislike is rife. Enter Thomas (aka swamp monster) and slowly some of the walls are lowered. Wrapped up in grossness and humour,Monster School, Book 1in a trilogy, is a story about acceptance, tolerance and how the little people can make a difference. Hilarious and disgusting, middle-school readers will love it!
City of Monsters Book 1: Monster School, DC Green Ford Street Publishing 2013 ISBN: 9781925000078
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author