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snappy_hades's review against another edition
5.0
This has always and will always be my most favorite and treasured book. This was the book that inspired me to write my own stories throughout my childhood.
kekimura's review against another edition
I read this as a kid and loved them - I recently found them in boxes of my old things so I'm re-reading them with my little sister.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Rilla Harmony Earth knows she has a very weird family. Her mother and her aunt, after leaving their husbands and changing their names to things like 'Sparrow', run a crunchy granola bed & breakfast. Rilla has her own private space in the attic, but otherwise has to tread carefully to avoid upsetting guests. The constant rotation of people in and out of her life is hard on her as well. Aside from a few repeat guests, she knows she can never become too attached to anybody without the knowledge that at any time they can go out of her life forever. Her mother has in the last few years chosen to homeschool her. Rilla thinks her life of guava juice, carob cake and Earth-pun t-shirts is hard enough for an almost-teen to bear when on January 1st she gets a package.
I read this and the first sequel growing up and thought the concept was the coolest thing. This was 95-ish and I was old enough to know I shouldn't have my stuffed animals where people could see them if they came into my room but had them out anyway. For a few more years.
By the time I rediscovered 'Monster of the Month Club' in 2010 on book internet all I could remember was the surly Icicle (the monster of January) and that the main character was home-schooled. As I read it again the (perhaps natural) preoccupation of Rilla with her top secret true love and the various stresses of keeping secret monsters in your attic bedroom came back to me. Regan doesn't put Rilla through too much trauma, but in the minds of kids with limited allowances the financial strain of keeping on top of their specific dietary needs was something that would give their fantasies pause. There isn't much meat to the novel, but Rilla's dealing with a bratty bully, her fantasies about her absent father, and the struggle of dealing with a parent and aunt that just don't understand, gives the slight book some depth. The monsters themselves are almost overshadowed.
Any criticism on that aspect of the book and the last-minute pondering on star movements and the monsters on my part is nullified by the recent SMBC comic where a grown man angrily yells at the glow of a TV that children's shows were so much better "when he was younger and had more imagination". Touché. The book was fun and a much-needed break for me as I wrapped up a doddering 18th century classic.
Monsters
Next: 'Monsters in the Attic'
I read this and the first sequel growing up and thought the concept was the coolest thing. This was 95-ish and I was old enough to know I shouldn't have my stuffed animals where people could see them if they came into my room but had them out anyway. For a few more years.
By the time I rediscovered 'Monster of the Month Club' in 2010 on book internet all I could remember was the surly Icicle (the monster of January) and that the main character was home-schooled. As I read it again the (perhaps natural) preoccupation of Rilla with her top secret true love and the various stresses of keeping secret monsters in your attic bedroom came back to me. Regan doesn't put Rilla through too much trauma, but in the minds of kids with limited allowances the financial strain of keeping on top of their specific dietary needs was something that would give their fantasies pause. There isn't much meat to the novel, but Rilla's dealing with a bratty bully, her fantasies about her absent father, and the struggle of dealing with a parent and aunt that just don't understand, gives the slight book some depth. The monsters themselves are almost overshadowed.
Any criticism on that aspect of the book and the last-minute pondering on star movements and the monsters on my part is nullified by the recent SMBC comic where a grown man angrily yells at the glow of a TV that children's shows were so much better "when he was younger and had more imagination". Touché. The book was fun and a much-needed break for me as I wrapped up a doddering 18th century classic.
Monsters
Next: 'Monsters in the Attic'
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