The Monsters Are Not The Trolls

  

I was surfing Netgalley looking for my next reading opportunity and spotted the holy grail, the one I'd been waiting for... Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus. I instantly requested it and within half an hour I'd been approved for it... score, and auto-approved for Bonnier Publishing... double score! I was going to be good though, I was half way through another book that I would finish first. So Trollhunters shot to the top of my TBR.

I had originally heard about the book from our Bonnier rep [Graham, most entertaining man on the planet, possibly the only rep that when I'm horribly busy I still love to see... sorry other reps, this is the guy you should aspire to be.] and was already sold on the book as soon as he said Guillermo del Toro. [He'd been practicing.] But to be honest, after he's said he'd sort out a proof for his next visit I didn't think much more about it until I saw it on Netgalley. I couldn't remember anything about the plot, but there'd be troll, right? The thought of reading it became more mysterious and I was as giddy as a school kid in a sweet shop.

So, I started reading...

Wow this is fast paced...
I like it...
Hmm, not what I was expecting...
27% in to the book and at this point something seems fishy...
39% in and I haven't seen a single troll yet, you're starting to take the piss now...
52%, half way through the book and still no trolls?! What the actual f@#!...
Maybe they're going for the Stephen King big reveal at the end. ["What's the reason for all this weird stuff?"... Aliens... The End.]
I persist even though I wanted trolls, after all, whatever I'm reading isn't bad...
100% - WTF Bonnier/Netgalley... WTF?!

I zip to the front and there are no details, so I zoom to the back and read the notes... who is this Emerald Fennell and what is this book she wrote that I quite enjoyed? I go off on a Google hunt and look up her name. [It's like a bear hunt but slightly less fuzzy... unless you stumble on to cat videos on YouTube.] Now I've got her up on my screen she's ringing bells, Graham told us they were really excited to have her book, "You probably recognise her from Call The Midwife." Blank stare from me, it's not really my cup of tea.

What I will say at this point is that I didn't have much desire to read the book initially. Another celebrity turned writer might have interested me had I known who she was, but even the synopsis didn't really grab me. Had I not been tricked into reading it I wouldn't have picked it up by choice... and you know what? I would have missed out.

Let's get to the nitty gritty.

Summer is a time to be with friends and family... but what if your family died horribly while attempting to patch up their marriage and you have no friends because you're a bit weird?

Cue to horribly idyllic town of Fowey.

Aunt Maria and Uncle Frederick take in their niece from her Grandmother for the summer and she spends the time living in their quaint Cornish hotel and mingling with the villages slightly unusual inhabitants. When Miles arrives [another odd 12 year old who's Mother would spend every waking hour with if she could] she realises she's found someone who understand her fascination with murder and serial killer. The two curious teens explore the town together, while out questioning and investigating the locals can they unravel the clues and solve the murders in this sleepy village?

Obviously I finished the book and was both happy and confused... good book, but where were the trolls?!

I haven't read either of Fennell's other books but if they're anything like this one we might want to worry about her slightly. Don't get me wrong, it's really good, but she seemingly nailed it. He we checked? Does she have an alibi?

The book is written from the point of view of a 12 year old girl... as an aside, does that girl actually have a name? Did I get so swept away with it all that I missed it every time? She babble and is chatty throughout, and that takes you running full speed into the story. Her blasé attitude towards everything comes and goes, she's a curious teen with a liking for the macabre, I know people like that and she's on point.

I saw a summary line that said Monsters was "The Shining meets The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time." I can see that, but when I got to the end of the book my first thought was actually, "this is Hannibal [the TV series] for kids." It starts off really well, creeps you out a bit and leaves you worrying where the second installment is going to go.

There's no denying that Fennell has really found the essence of young teens. There's just enough self discovery mixed with a dash of peer pressure and wanting to fit in with who you think the cool kids are. Every character in the book is a little caricature of small town life, and even with them being all over the spectrum I was surprised that they all seemed to work so well together.

For the book lenders of you out there here are the things to know:

  • The f-bomb gets dropped a few times, more or less appropriately, it's certainly not just thrown in gratuitously.
  • The main characters play murder games where they pretend to be a killer and his victim.
  • They also cause injury and kill during the story.
  • There are references to both psychological and physical abuse.
I've read a few books recently where I've ummed and erred about hot to classify them, and this one has been added to that list. I checked and it's listed as 13-15, I'd have agreed and put it at 14+, but it is a very specific type of read so it may just depend on the individual reader. What I would say is that the blurb, while listing it as black comedy, does not give a good indication of what to expect inside.

Out of curiosity I Googled Fowey, it exists, they have a regatta in August... I think I'll steer clear.

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