Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny, illustrated by Edward Bettison - ADVISABLE

Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny, illustrated by Edward Bettison, 325 pages. Henry Holt (MacMillan), 2021. $17 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (monsters, peril, killing, and eating things) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

2 orphans - Jem and Tom, stumble upon a hidden manor house guarded by man-eating flowers and inhabited by monsters. But the monsters are Mirabelle's family, she's a monster, too. She's the one who found the children, she's convinced the elders to let them stay (at least until Tom isn't sick anymore) and she's trying to keep everything together, until something even more sinister than the monsters threatens the humans in the village as well as Mirabell's family. 

I loved this gothic tale - it had all the stuff - secret runes, trap doors, a beast behind a locked door (ironically names Piglet) a mystery, and kids helping save the village. Wonderful! Plenty of illustrations as well as black divider pages help wrap this story in a creepy, dark and ominous world. Plenty scary for those who want a thrilling read. 

Lisa Librarian