Gr 4–6—Cordelia Clay's father is a veterinarian for monsters, and she spends her days helping him nurse creatures
like filches, dragons, and squelches back to health. When her father disappears with their monsters, Cordelia is
determined to find them. Along the way, she meets new companions, rekindles old friendships, and learns who the
true monsters are. Oliver's invigorating tale packs a surprise at every turn and is a thoroughly entertaining read.

Well written, but there's not much lightness or fun in it. I'm not sure it's a good idea to start a book with an encyclopedia (even of monsters) before you've given your reader a reason to care about the contents. ( )

This was recently picked as a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal, and I was excited to read it because I have enjoyed Lauren Oliver's work. I guess I should clarify that I have loved Lauren Oliver's young adult books but her middle grade books haven't quite worked for me, including this one. Which is not say that I didn't enjoy it, but it won't end up on my best of the year list. Young Cordelia lives with her father in a crumbling Boston home sometime in the late 1800s. Her father is a veterinarian by training but business has dried up as he focuses all of his attention on rescuing and sheltering monsters - pixies, dragons, squelches, diggles, and more. One night Cordelia's father vanishes, along with all of the monsters in their home save a newly acquired and injured dragon and another monster whose name I can't remember. With the help of a street urchin named Gregory and his zuppy (zombie puppy), she embarks on an adventure to find and save her father - and the monsters.

The book's larger point is about acceptance. Monsters are more misunderstood than dangerous. Immigrants of all kinds are met with suspicion, Jews are barred entry into stores, etc. This is definitely an important theme in children's literature. I just wish it were conveyed in a book that wasn't so clunky and contrived. I almost didn't read the book at all when I realized that the first 25 or so pages were just encyclopedic-style entries about monsters and their habits, diets, taxonomies, and other random terminology - without a story to make the reader care about the dozens of monsters listed it was a slog to get through and an extremely questionable way to start a book (a better way to do this is to introduce creatures - fantastical or mythological - gradually, or as needed by the story. This is done much more effectively in a book like Lintang and the Pirate Queen). The crumbling, shadowy Dickensian atmosphere was a plus, but not enough to save what was ultimately an unsatisfying story.