Monstrous

December 22, 2014
With echoes of Frankenstein and “Beauty and the Beast,” Connolly’s debut offers a premise both captivating and grotesque. Upon awakening, Kymera learns that she has been brought back to life by her scientist father through a series of experiments that leave her with patchwork skin, cat eyes, claws, wings, a barbed tail, and no memories. Kymera’s charge, to rescue girls in neighboring Bryre afflicted with a curse from an evil wizard, proves difficult as she begins to have flashbacks of her former life. Upon meeting a boy named Ren and a dragon that calls her sister, Kymera discovers that her father is not who she thinks he is and must come to terms with her terrifying body in order to defeat the wizard, save the girls, and protect Bryre’s citizens from a deadly creeping briar. Connolly invokes fairy-tale elements with ease, and although the expansive plot can feel disjointed and hastily drawn at times, the formidable theme of sacrifice resonates far beyond the final page. Art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media.

November 15, 2014
A monster's search for identity and redemption, with betrayal, lies and madness at its core.Having wakened with no memory, patchwork Kymera knows only what her kind-faced creator, Barnabas, tells her-that the girls of nearby Bryre are being stolen by a deranged wizard, and she has been assembled from gathered parts of victims and magical creatures to rescue them, one per night. But as Kymera pursues her nocturnal mission, aided by wings and a stinging tail that (in overt homage to Frankenstein) are bolted on, exchanges with an intrepid lad named Rendall and other puzzling clues gradually lead her to question her assumptions. The horrific truth at last revealed, devastated Kymera sets out to rescue the dozens of girls she has taken. More betrayal awaits, though, along with considerable slaughter, before just deserts are fully paid. Connolly makes her conflicted narrator so slow on the uptake that readers, who will twig to the true villain's identity far earlier, may grow impatient waiting for her to get on with it. Not that the plot is particularly compelling, what with its dependence on conveniently overheard conversations and stylized battle choreography, plus Kymera's angst-y frets about her true inner nature to slow it down further. The story may be spun with classic DNA, but in the end, it's sluggish and overwrought. (Fantasy. 12-14)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2014

Gr 4-7-Kymera lives with a man she calls "Father" in a hidden compound outside of Bryre, a city threatened by the dark magic of a murderous, jealous wizard. When she first awakens, Kymera slowly begins to recognize that she is different than her so-called father, Barnabas; he has no tail or wings, his skin isn't mottled, and there are no bolts on his neck. He explains that Kymera is special, one of a kind. Barnabas tells his creation that he saved her from the wizard to help the people of Bryre and liberate the girls who fall ill from the wizard's evil curse. Soon Barnabas feels that Kymera's education is complete-she knows how, where, and when to fly; how to use her stinging tail; and more-and she is sent to the city to free sickened girls. Barnabas contends that they will be found in a beautiful place called Belladona. Kyrmera begins to satisfy her curiosity about the people of Bryre and fragments of memory emerge. As she gradually befriends a boy named Ren and connects with Batu, a rock dragon, the truth about Barnabas, Bryre, and all those around Kymera begins to become clear. Tension builds as Kymera's innocence fades, gradually revealed through her first-person narration. Though slow to start, the action picks up and hurtles along at a breathtaking pace. Loose ends are tied up in the main, although the final battle and Kymera's fate are revealed a bit too quickly. Magic, fantastic creatures, mythology, and a bit of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein combine here for an exciting, if sometimes overlong, tale.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
Grades 4-8 Kymera, a Frankenstein-inspired hybrid, is enlisted by her scientist father to save the daughters of the Byre townsfolk from an evil wizard. How does she do it? By swooping down, stinging them with her tail, and rescuing them from their prison, after which they are escorted to the heavenly nearby town of Belladoma. Debut novelist Connolly is gentle with Kymera as she struggles to regain memories of childhood that have been excised and are fleeting at best. However, with the assistance of town-boy Rendall, who smells like cinnamon and baking bread, and his welcoming extended family, Kymera learns the awful truth about her own deadly deeds and the wicked family business. Together, Kymera and Ren set out to save their homeland of Bryre with the help of Batu, a pensive rock dragon. A likely read-aloud that has its share of guts, blood, and grim reality within this fantasy land, Monstrous will keep young readers thinking about trust, good and evil, friendship and loyalty, and devotion to community.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Frankenstein meets Coraline in this creepy tale. Kymera, reborn of animal parts and a human brain, knows nothing except that she loves her father, who has built her for a mysterious, disturbing purpose. Though Kymera's guileless narration ensures that readers always suspect more than she does, Connolly's technique effectively builds a sense of dread, as does her skillful interweaving of fairy-tale elements.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)