The Last Monster

February 15, 2016
Introspective Sofia, a recent cancer survivor midway through seventh grade, acquires both a prosthetic leg and an unlooked-for role: Guardian of monsters. The monsters hail from various cultural imaginings: the Jewish Golem, a Japanese Kappa, the wolflike French Beast of Gevaudan, an American Indian Thunderbird, a British Afanc. The role of Guardian comes with a bestiary, passed down through centuries from Aristotle's student Xeno to Sofia in Atlanta, Georgia, which evidently "the Native Americans believed...to be a hive of supernatural activity." Chemo-bald, white Sofia also acquires an enemy: Alexander the Great's obsessed, witchy mother, Olympias, plans to avenge Alexander and complete his conquest of the world. Sofia is protective toward the monsters but also toward her anxious single mother and her estranged best friend. Meanwhile, the school's alpha girl and the new boy (witty and good-looking but a bit of an outcast) seem to angle for her friendship. Garrett's prose, frequently poignant and sophisticated, is punctuated with wry humor. But though the monsters--including one wrought from Sofia's insecurity--menace with tooth, claw, and stink, they seem little more than fleeting threats. Xeno, caught between life and death and devoted to Aristotle's theory about the monsters' roles in human experience, is more comical than awesome. Garrett leaves the door open to sequels with Olympias' melodramatic parting line: "oh, what surprises await!" The monsters in Mirtalipova's occasional illustrations tend toward cute rather than scary. An uneven but entertaining approach to mixed mythologies. (Fantasy. 10-14)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Sofia has always felt like an outsider, with her bristly hair and unremarkable face. But now she feels it even more acutely, ever since surviving cancer and receiving a prosthetic leg. When she returns to school, she feels distanced from her former best friend Alexis and she's tired of everyone pretending to be nice to her. Then there's the cute new boy, Billy, who sees something fierce inside of her. One day, a book suddenly appears, and through it, Sofia begins to communicate with Xeno, the last living student of Aristotle. She becomes the Guardian, protector of monsters. There is always a Guardian, and it is always a child. She learns that monsters are real and that she must take care of them all, despite the fact that some of them are not cute or good. The monsters, while very real in the context of the story, also represent the insecurities and trauma Sofia feels. While the fantastical elements are compelling, it's the real-world situations that make this book stand out. The references to Greek mythology could have been better fleshed out and established. VERDICT Though Sofia's frequent philosophizing about the nature of good and evil, reality and fantasy, might be a bit much for average middle grade readers, this is a perfect recommendation for introspective kids who feel like outsiders.-Jessica Ko, Los Angeles Public Library

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