The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny is a beautifully written, gothic, imaginative tour de force. I loved it.
The Monsters of Rookhaven is a many-layered story. It’s about assumptions. It’s about grief. It’s about love. It’s about home. It’s about friendship, and it’s a coming of age story. But best of all, it’s about monsters. Some of the monsters I met in these pages will live on in my imagination forever - I particularly loved the Flowers of Devine Lapsidy and Piglet - and some of them will haunt my nightmares.
If you’re looking for a beautifully written, gothic horror (with a small H), exploring big themes, then I can’t recommend this highly enough. It delivers thrills, tears, warm feelings, and air punches aplenty. It really is marvelous.
You may or may not have noticed, but I haven’t posted a book blog in a while. This is because I’ve been writing so many of my own books. When I’m writing, I can’t read. My head is too full of the world I’m making to allow another one in. The Monsters of Rookhaven is one of the first books that I’ve opened and read all the way to the end in two days straight. All my other books are waiting, bookmark inserted, hoping for my time and attention so they can fulfill their destiny. It is a mark of how original and compelling Kenny’s narrative is that I managed to finish it so quickly. I couldn’t put it down.
This book is a perfect Halloween read, but The Monsters of Rookhaven is a timeless monster story for all year round. For ages 9 to 90.