Attack of the Not-So-Virtual Monsters

August 1, 2017

Gr 3-6-Best friends Bex and Charlie are excited to spend the summer before middle school searching for monsters. Like most of their town, they're obsessed with the newest app-based game, Monsters Unleashed, where players find and catch virtual monsters on their phones for points. In hopes of finding the rarest beasts, Charlie and Bex visit Charlie's grandpa's attic to pore over old maps, but instead they stumble upon a strange box. When Charlie switches it on, the Wi-Fi goes out...and all of Bex's monsters vanish from her phone, appearing in the real world. Now the two friends are on a mission to catch all 10 monsters before they, and the rest of their town, become monster lunch. Bex and Charlie deal with mean friends, bullying siblings, and nervousness about starting middle school, but character development takes a backseat to plot-driven action. VERDICT Fans of Pokemon Go will enjoy this slim series starter, where a foreseeable plot keeps the action moving at a quick clip.-Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, St. Paul Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017
Monsters from a "Pokemon Go"-type game escape into the real world. Bex, 12, is spending the summer before middle school catching virtual hybrid monsters in her favorite augmented-reality game/cellphone app, "Monsters Unleashed," with nerdy best friend Charlie. But after they encounter a strange machine in Charlie's grandfather's attic, Bex's Monster Lab is emptied. They realize it's more than a glitch when one of the monsters attacks them on their way home. Only "Monsters Unleashed" players can see the escaped monsters (though the creatures interact with and affect the real world), and Bex and Charlie figure out that the phone game can be used to recapture the 10 missing monsters. The plot--can the monsters be trapped back in the game before they hurt anyone?--isn't big on surprises, but it is big on action, and the chimera monsters are inventive. Stock side characters include the former best friend-turned-mean girl (and secret gamer) and the bully older brother; their subplots are as subtle as their characterizations. Although Bex and Charlie are white, their Massachusetts town is populated by characters with names that indicate diversity. Post-resolution, the company behind "Monsters Unleashed" releases a new game, which will inevitably cause trouble in the sequel, as will the distance starting the school year seems to place between Bex and Charlie. While there are both better monster and better tech books out there, the fast pace and action focus will appeal to game-addicted readers. (Science fiction. 8-12)

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