The Monstrumologist - by Rick Yancey (Paperback)

About the Book

A monster-hunting doctor and his apprentice face off against a plague of monsters in the first book of this new series by the author of The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp series.

Book Synopsis

A Printz Award Honor Book
"Horror lovers will be rapt." --Publishers Weekly

An orphan apprenticed to a monster hunter reveals their "page-turning, nightmarish adventures" (Kirkus Reviews) in this first book of the diary-style, historical gothic Monstrumologist young adult series.

These are the secrets I have kept.

Will Henry, an orphan in nineteenth-century New England, works as the assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late-night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was eating her, Will's world changes forever.

The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagus--a headless monster that feeds through a mouth in its chest--and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume the world...before it is too late.

Review Quotes

"This gothic thriller will appeal to kids who like scary with high brow Dickensian writing...Yancey builds the action towards the climactic cemetary scene while also deftly handling the changing interpersonal dynamic between the doctor and Will. REaders who enjoyed Yancey's Alfred Kropp series...won't want to miss this one. Recommended."--"Library Media Connection"

"This has all the elements of the best Victorian mystery and horror...Readers who like their horror truly horrible and yet archly distant and peppered with ecstatic Victorian-scented comments on the woes of the human condition will jump right in and not emerge until the last relieved gasp."--"The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"

"This story is gothic horror at its finest and most disturbing. A cross between Mary Shelley and Stephen King, the tale will force readers to stay up late to finish and then remain awake, afraid to shut off the lights...The richness of the language, the strain of wry humor, and the perfectly drawn characters make it a marvelous read...This book is perfect for readers who want their nightmares in a literary package."--"VOYA"

"Yancey takes...gore and violence...to thrilling new levels in this sophisticated tale."--"School Library Journal"