As Gabriel enters his aunt's ancient castle he soon learns that skeletons aren't always scary and ghosts can tell the most interesting stories.
As Gabriel enters his aunt's ancient castle he soon learns that skeletons aren't always scary and ghosts can tell the most interesting stories.
Horror, Juvenile fiction (general)
Gabriel is a boy who has just lost everything. His parents have died and he's forced to move to a strange country, France, to find a new home. He dislikes his crazy aunt, who he has to live with, he doesn't want to learn French, and to make matters worse, the only real family he has left is his whiny baby brother. Despite all this, as soon as Gabriel enters his aunt's ancient castle, he realizes that all these disasters might be the beginning of a grand adventure. In the castle of Chateau Larcher, the walls groan and the attic talks. Shadows take on strange shapes and Gabriel becomes convinced the castle is haunted. But the ghosts in Chateau Larcher aren't what Gabriel expects and he soon learns that skeletons aren't always scary and ghosts can tell the most interesting stories.
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Monster Hunter's Manual Book 1: Skeletons and Traps is a novel for young adults about adapting to broad changes. Gabriel is a boy whose life has just been upended; his parents have died, and he's required to move to a new country, France. He doesn't get along with his eccentric aunt or his crybaby little brother, and he doesn't want to learn French. But as he explores his aunt's castle, he starts to stumble upon elements of adventure, including friendly skeletons to storytelling ghosts. An ultimately upbeat story about making the most of what life dishes out, Monster Hunter's Manual is highly recommended. The review has been provided to the Helen C. White Library's "Cooperative Children's Book Center" (University of Wisconsin, Madison) where it will be made available to school and community librarians throughout Wisconsin's public school systems and community libraries. This review has also been provided to the Cengage Learning, Gale interactive CD-ROM series "Book Review Index" which is published four times yearly for academic, corporate, and public library systems. ~ Magazine-'Children's Bookwatch', Midwest Book Review
