Charles Gilman
Quirk Books, 2012
$13.99, Hardcover
978-1594745911
Genre: Horror, Humor
Age: 10+
Description: Robert Arthur's neighborhood has been redistricted so now he
will be starting middle school at the new state-of-the-art Lovecraft Middle
School. To add to his misfortune of being the “new kid” the one person he
recognizes from his old elementary school is his long-time nemesis, Glenn, who
used to bully him every day and steal his lunch money. So much for starting over.
However, Robert soon makes new friends with Karina, who seems to know a lot of
secrets about the school, and a two-headed rat he names Pip and Squeak, who don’t
say much by seem to convey a lot of information in their facial looks and
movements. Robert quickly learns that there are more weird things at the school
than just a two-headed rat when Glenn almost gets yanked inside a school locker
to another dimension by a tentacle monster. Turns out the school was built over
an old creepy mansion and a lot of that bad psychic energy is coming through
turning the school into a very, very weird place.
Opinion: I was attracted to this series because it is clearly a play
on H.P. Lovecraft’s world. Unfortunately, not too many real references actually
exist in the first book besides the name of the school, a Cthulhuian like
monster in the school crest, his mom who works at Dunwich Memorial Hospital,
and some cultist-like gibberish words. The cover has the gimmick of a hologram
that shows the science teacher turn from a nice old guy into a horned demon
(other covers will show twin girls turning into Medusa-like creatures and a boy
turning into an insect) but the interior illustrations by Eugene Smith are
pretty cool. This book is a very, very simple introduction to the Cthulhu
Mythos of Lovecraft. It does end in a total cliffhanger encouraging readers to
check out the rest of the books. Unfortunately, the book is definitely for
younger readers as it comes off with a very immature feel too it both in
writing style, language, and tone. However, it was a quick, entertaining read.
A good horror book for younger readers.
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