Lisi Harrison

From Lisi Harrison, the New York Times bestselling author of The Clique and Alphas, comes a new series with a fresh twist on high school, romance, and the "horrors" of trying to fit in. The monster community has kept a low profile at the local high school, but when two new girls enroll, the town will never be the same. Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and prom. But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie learns that high school can be rough for a chic freak like her. She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver-but can a "normie" be trusted with her big secret?

Monster High

Frankie glared at her tear-soaked face reflected in the car window. The ugly truth glared back. Her looks were frightening. 

She felt surprisingly comfortable with this stranger. Maybe because he wasn't simply looking at her face; he was looking through it. 

“The people are fine, I guess. It's just that my mom's the science teacher and she's pretty strict, so ľm not exactlv on anyone’s speed dial, "You can be on mine," Melody offered sweetly. “Really?" Jackson asked, his forehead starting to glow with Sweat.

“We moved here because of my asthma," Melody announced. 

"Um, hey...I'm. ..Melody." she managed. cheeks burning. "Jackson." He lowered his eyes. 

"Hey, neighbor!" He lifted his head and then smacked a chunk of wavy brown hair away from his face. Melody’s stomach lurched. He was even cuter up close. 

the hope is that someday we'll be able to live openly again, but until that time comes, it's crucial that we blend in. Being discovered would force us into exile again. Our homes, careers, and lifestyles would be destroyed." “That's why it's important that you cover your skin and hide vour bolts and seams," Viveka explained. “Where are yours?” Frankie asked. Vivek lifted her black scarf and winked. Two shiny bolts winked back. Viktor unzipped the high collar on his track jacket, revealing his hardware.

“Then why do you cover it up?” "Because"-Viktor wiped his finger on the leg of his tracksuit we live in a world of normies. And many of them are afraid of people who look different." "Different from what?" Frankie wondered aloud. Viktor looked down. “Different from them."

Melody wanted to shout "I don't need you to tell me who I can and can't bave!" But there was a shirtless boy with black-framed glasses and a mop of brown hair staring at her. All she could do was stare back and wonder what color his eyes were.

“Now, who's ready to meet the neighbors?" can "Candace, don't!" Melody begged, but her sister was already struggling with the iron latch. Trying to tame Candace was like trying to stop a moving roller coaster by waving your hands in the air. It was an exhausting waste of time. Sme Tar shu thi "Hev, Hot Stuff!" Candace shouted out the window, then ducked below the ledge. The boy turned and looked up, sheltering his eyes from the sun. candace lifted her head and peeked. “Nope. Not interested.” she muttered. “Too young. Four eyed. No tan. You can have him.”

Girls called her smellody because of her giant nose— and boys didn't call her anything at all. They didn't even look at her. By Thanksgiving she was practically invisible. If it weren't for her incessant wheezing and inhaler sucking, no one would have ezled snap give ame known she was alive. 

Maybe it Would inspire a whole line of accessories for asthmatics. Like inhalers on necklaces and-

They took turns kissing Frankie's forehead. One of them smelled like chemicals, the other like sweet flowers. Together. they smelled like love.

jordan

“Not that anyone noticed her eyes. her nose took center stage.”

pressed her pert nose into the magazine and took a long sniff of the enclosed Miss Dior Cherie perfume sample. 

Sarah Sammis

graves

*3.5 stars*

"Pride has to come from within you and stay with you, no matter what people say."

I've been a fan of Monster High for years from the doll line and movie adaptions and decided to give the books a go. First, I loved the split point of view system used, it kept the story interesting and not too laggy. The atmosphere of the story locked me in from the first chapter, it almost felt like I was in the settings described. But for the things that bugged me.... Melody trying to act like she doesn't have the privilege of being a human and she "felt like a monster her whole life" made me so annoyed, your dad was able to give you a nose job, that doesn't equal having to hide for you and everybody else of your kind to be safe. Bekka and her friend were the most annoying (and scary?) part of this book, not only with her being an overbearing (bordering on abusive) girlfriend, who would want to be around her when all her conversions are recorded... Bleh. Maybe it was a little funny the first time, but not the next countless times whenever Bekka showed up in the book. Also, I wasn't a fan of the lightning fast (no pun intended) crush on D.J. Frankie developed suddenly, but that's something that annoys me about the series/movies as well; how Frankie's thrown a new love interest way too often. The book's catty in a lot of areas, but that's expected from books in this age range and genre for me at this point.

I did for the most part like the romance between Melody and Jackson though, it was cute to see build up (until a certain event at the end of the book...) The way Jackson and D.J. were written was one of the most interesting parts of the book to me. I mostly stuck around to see what the characters I've grown to love from the series were up to in the books. Getting to see their personalities (and disguises) be described through words on a page was interesting for me, even if I'm much more a fan of them in the movies and series (ex. Cleo, and her relationship with Deuce... messy in this book.) I was glad to see Draculaura, my favorite, was characterized like I expected her to be for the most part. Regardless of the things that bugged me with the book, I'm excited to see where the story and writing goes from here in the second book.

Briar's Reviews

Monster High by Lisi Harrison is a fun twist on classic monsters but in a more family-friendly, YA format.

Ever since Monster High became the big hit that it has with the kiddos, I've been eying down the "original" source material. This book came onto my radar and I just knew I had to read it. The premise itself of the current shows and movies was interesting - children of the original monsters - so the book also had to be an interesting read too, right? Well, it sure was! Now, I'm no expert on the movies, dolls, tv shows, etc., that came from this other than knowing the bare basics (and watching one or two that popped up on television for something to watch). Is it accurate? No idea. Is it fun? HECK YES.

The take of the monsters hiding in plain sight was fun and intriguing. It made a hint of mystery and suspense appear in this novel when I full out expected the book to just be a literal Monster High without "normis" (you know, us humans) hanging around. Frankistein, aka Frankie, Draculara, and all of the other characters are there, but they can't let the world know they are different (or RADs... Regular Attribute Dodgers - which is an epically fun name I'm going to use daily for myself now LOL).

Melody has me wondering... Is she really a normi? I feel like she isn't. I thought she was a vampire at first, but I just can't place who she might be... yet. 

There was a bit of a cliffhanger, which made my grumpy, but I wanted to continue the series regardless. I'll be keeping my eye out for the remaining books in this series and binge my way through them just like I did this one. 

Fun, freaky, fantastic!

Five out of five stars.

dana

Patti Reinheimer

Very different from original cartoon series, which is not a bad thing. Parts of this were fun, but sadly Frankie really worked my last nerve and I thought the primary antagonist was just not interesting.

Monster High

Reviews

Highlights