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abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
Monster
by Michael Grant
Let me summarize two very minor side plots for you: genetically modified caterpillars can't exist without government permission, and napalm is indeed very sticky.
Monster is the first book in the sequel series to Michael Grant's Gone series. I read the FAYZ books last summer, so they're still relatively fresh in my mind (although I definitely forgot some important details and had to be reminded of them). I have a love/hate relationship with most sequel series, and I was unsure how I'd feel about this one. The verdict? I think this is a series that needs to stand by itself, and I've chosen to pretend that it has minimal relation to the first one.
The first series was a modern Lord of the Flies type story, filled with grit, gore, and the violence of children left to their own survival. This book completely escalates the sci-fi elements from the first one, and the hero/villain motifs are not used subtly at all. The basic gist is that a variety of teens have - both intentionally and unintentionally - encountered alien radiation from meteorites that change their DNA and give them monster forms and superpowers. The pacing was good, especially given the multiple POVs that all gathered in one location by the end. It contained some of the gore and grit from the first series, but the overwhelming sci-fi elements that seemed so unlike the rules established previously made it feel, well, a bit childish to me.
I also think the character development could have used some more work. Because this book was so short and fast-paced, it left little time for the reader to actually get to know the characters. I think Dekka was probably my favorite, mostly because her character development was established in the first series. Shade was also fairly interesting, and I thought her motivation was well done. Armo intrigued me, so I'm interested to see if he'll have more page time in the next book. The rest of the cast was okay, but I do agree with other reviews I've seen that say the diversity in the story feels forced. I also agree that some characters need to stay dead...
I think Monster would be a fine series on its own, but because it's a sequel series that completely changed the vibes of a series I really enjoyed, I didn't love it.
3.5/5
Monster is the first book in the sequel series to Michael Grant's Gone series. I read the FAYZ books last summer, so they're still relatively fresh in my mind (although I definitely forgot some important details and had to be reminded of them). I have a love/hate relationship with most sequel series, and I was unsure how I'd feel about this one. The verdict? I think this is a series that needs to stand by itself, and I've chosen to pretend that it has minimal relation to the first one.
The first series was a modern Lord of the Flies type story, filled with grit, gore, and the violence of children left to their own survival. This book completely escalates the sci-fi elements from the first one, and the hero/villain motifs are not used subtly at all. The basic gist is that a variety of teens have - both intentionally and unintentionally - encountered alien radiation from meteorites that change their DNA and give them monster forms and superpowers. The pacing was good, especially given the multiple POVs that all gathered in one location by the end. It contained some of the gore and grit from the first series, but the overwhelming sci-fi elements that seemed so unlike the rules established previously made it feel, well, a bit childish to me.
I also think the character development could have used some more work. Because this book was so short and fast-paced, it left little time for the reader to actually get to know the characters. I think Dekka was probably my favorite, mostly because her character development was established in the first series. Shade was also fairly interesting, and I thought her motivation was well done. Armo intrigued me, so I'm interested to see if he'll have more page time in the next book. The rest of the cast was okay, but I do agree with other reviews I've seen that say the diversity in the story feels forced. I also agree that some characters need to stay dead...
I think Monster would be a fine series on its own, but because it's a sequel series that completely changed the vibes of a series I really enjoyed, I didn't love it.
3.5/5