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  • Monster Tree

Monster Tree

Author
Publication Date
September 03, 2024
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  6th − 8th
Language
English
Monster Tree

Description

Stranger Things meets A Monster Calls in this spine-tingling, emotionally rich middle grade novel about a boy who must protect his neighborhood from a malevolent monster tree while dealing with the recent loss of his father.

Something evil is growing . . .

Linus used to be an artist, like his dad. Now his father is gone, and Linus's mom has moved them to the other side of the city, hoping for a fresh start. Maybe, for the first time in months, Linus will even draw again.

But there's something unusual about their neighbor Maude and something wrong with the grotesque tree in her backyard. At night Linus sees it moving, changing, growing. When increasingly bizarre events plague the neighborhood--massive claw marks appearing on doors and cars, pets going missing, sightings of a red-eyed creature--he suspects Maude and her tree are to blame.

With his home under threat, Linus teams up with his goofy best friend, Spencer, and no-nonsense new girl Abby to unearth whatever sinister seeds have been planted next door . . . where something truly monstrous is just taking root.

Sarah Allen weaves together spooky supernatural adventure with a poignant tale of grief, the healing power of art, and the uniting force of friendship in Monster Tree.

Publication date
September 03, 2024
Genre
Fiction
Page Count
272
ISBN-13
9780374390976
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039030 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Death & Dying
JUV018000 - Juvenile Fiction | Horror
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Neighbors
Monsters
Trees
Novels

ALA/Booklist

Readers looking for inventive monsters or those who appreciate a dynamic emotional arc will find something to like here.

Kirkus

 A searing exploration of the intersection of grief and horror.

Sarah Allen
Sarah Allen is the author of What Stars Are Made Of and Breathing Underwater, as well as poems for kids published in places like Cicada, The Caterpillar, and more. Born and raised in Utah, she received an MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University, and now calls the Midwest home. She spends her non-writing time watching David Attenborough documentaries and blasting show-tunes, which helps keep her Fear Maker at bay.