Little Monsters: PERFECT FOR FANS OF FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE AND THE PAPER PALACE

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Adrienne Brodeur is the author of the memoir Wild Game, which was selected as a Best Book of the Year by NPR and The Washington Post and is in development as a Netflix film. She founded the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with Francis Ford Coppola, and currently serves as executive director of Aspen Words, a literary nonprofit and program of the Aspen Institute. She splits her time between Cambridge and Cape Cod, where she lives with her husband and children. I am by no means a psychic but I can tell you right now how Kacey’s future is going to go: SERIOUS trust issue and probably will be a loner for the rest of her life. And who could blame her?

This is a riveting tale of friendship, jealousy, obsession, fear, family, and the things that happen when no one is honest with their feelings and fears. I couldn't get enough of it. In preparing her father’s birthday present, Abby reflects on her family. She “couldn’t pinpoint a date, but over the last few years, the distance between the three of them had turned into something more palpable, a liquid congealing into a solid. Ken was nursing old grievances, their father’s fuse was growing ever shorter, and Abby felt herself pulling away from them both.”Shy Sophie – She is a timid little girl. She gets very uncomfortable with being in the company of others, and she will often shy away, even saying, "I'm shy.". She is half-Chinese.

All the ghost stories got it wrong: evil isn’t a spirit or a monster or a ghost. It lives inside regular people, and it doesn’t know the difference between night and day.

Little Monsters drew me in first by its cover, second by the synopsis, and lastly by the author's storytelling and beautiful writing style. I adore Family Fiction, the more complicated the better. This is described as being drawn from the biblical tale of "Cain and Abel" and perhaps there are hints of it here and there, but this story definitely stands on its own. Or was she a cunning psychopath who did this knowingly and coldly? The end seems to me to imply that with the last sentence. I SO wanted to know. I felt a bit frustrated because there were so many unanswered questions. Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them. Kara Thomas delivers a twisty well plotted teenage suspense novel. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the writing.

Thomas' suspenseful and accessible writing style formatted in easily digestible, short chapters makes Monsters a light and fun read. What highlights the building tension of the novel is Thomas' masterful craft of chapter-making, showcasing her deliberate control over dropping significant plot points through the exchange over two perspectives: from first-person Kacey to first-person Bailey through her journal. Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident. Evil isn’t a spirit or a monster or a ghost. It lives inside regular people, and it doesn’t know the difference between night and day. Friendly Franco – He is a Spaniard boy who is always on his best behaviour, and is quite possibly the kindest boy in the world. Franco is always kind to everyone, and always does his best to make friends with anyone. He is always willing to cheer up people who are upset or worried.

I ADORED the twist..so much. But I really wish some of the loose ends were tied up. I was ACHING for this story to go on and provide us more. The fully realized setting of Wellfleet Woods, halfway between the tip and the elbow of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, launches Adrienne Brodeur’s mesmerizing, modern day saga about a dysfunctional family so cleverly drawn as to make the story’s dynamic relatable and completely understandable. As a group, come up with a list of other pieces of media that deal with entangled family bonds, gender politics, women’s friendships, and childhood trauma, and discuss how these selections differ from or are similar to Little Monsters. Her Dad has a wife, Ashley, a step-son, Andrew, and a younger daughter, Lauren. Kacey is simply thrust into their family. It's not necessarily comfortable at first, but overall she's grateful to have a more secure environment. It's definitely a change for her.

Older brother Ken, a successful businessman is focused on a future in politics. He already has a seemingly perfect family in his wife Jenny, and twin daughters. It's all part of his grandiose plan. As Abby’s best friend and Ken’s wife, Jenny is enmeshed in the Gardner family; Steph, on the other hand, is only just introducing herself to the relations she didn’t know she had. Compare and contrast Jenny and Steph’s arcs as they (re-)calibrate their place in this complicated family. Another commendable aspect of the novel is its avoidance on subscribing to the twisted, abusive stepfamily trope through its depiction that such can be as loving and supportive as one's biological family. Moreover, the normalization of seeking help from mental health professionals and taking prescribed medication are also points to be appreciated in the novel. They get up to the typical high school girl things like sneaking out, trespassing and trying to summon spirits in abandoned buildings. You know, the usual. There is some minor tension amongst the girls, of course, but that's normal too. Nonetheless, this was still as slow, but I think in terms of story and characters, Little Monsters was much more enticing and thrilling. Kara has a great way of building character development and this pays off towards the end of the book.I don’t want to spoil anything, but my mind is still reeling from the ending of the novel. I’m incredibly impressed by Thomas’s creativity, and I love the red herrings that Thomas gave the readers in trying to solve Bailey’s disappearance. Overall, if you love twisty, dark psychological thrillers, I definitely suggest this one! I’m looking forward to reading THE DARKEST CORNERS and Thomas’s next works. But the night doesn’t like to give up its secrets. And if Bailey disappeared into it, there might be no telling what happened to her.