Author: Vanessa Len
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published Date: February 2, 2022
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★
REVIEW
To be honest, I did not expect to enjoy this book so much. It's been a while since I read a YA book that had such a captivating plot. Usually, I go into YA books expecting some immaturity and situations that make me cringe a bit. It's not that this book was particularly mature for a YA book, but the characters actions didn't make me roll my eyes. I sped through this book and did not want to put it down.
SUMMARY
Only a Monster, follows Joan, a teen who is spending the summer at her grandparents house while she works at the museum. It is her mother's side of the family, who died when she was younger, while her dad is visiting his family in Malaysia. One evening as she is meeting a coworker for a date, she helps an elderly man with memory issues only to lose the rest of the night. She has no idea what happened as she wakes up laying on the side of the road. After a devastating night, she learns she is the descendant of a family of Monsters who can steal time from humans to travel through history. She is swept into a world of conspiracy and danger to figure out a way to undo time itself.
MY THOUGHTS
I loved this book. To me, it was unputdownable. If there was one thing I didn't like so much, it was that they were called Monsters. I think in fantasy, the word monsters is so normal that Len could have come up with a unique name. That is such a nitpicky thing though, it didn't quite knock it down to 4.5 stars. The actual plot was very compelling. I loved the pacing as, in a high stakes situation, you wouldn't expect much breathing room.
The magic system was cool as well. With a single touch these monsters can steal time from humans, but on top of that, each family had their unique magic as well. Joan's family, the Hunt family, can hide items in time making them very successful thieves, but also earning them a bad reputation. The other families magic were also fairly unique. One family had a perfect memory, one could stop others from traveling through time, and others had their own gift. I really thought Len did a great job of introducing and explaining how the magic worked in the world.
Unlike a vast majority of YA books I've read recently, this did not fall trap to the "dear god just tell an adult and this will all be avoided" trope. It made sense why these young people were having to solve the issue on their own and and their motives did as well. There was a hint of a love triangle, but I was so glad that it was such a minor focus. Len did a great job of focusing on the plot rather than a will they won't they teen drama.
Another thing I loved were all the reveals. Throughout the book we were hit with multiple plot reveals that made me excited to keep reading. Everything made sense and they just continued to surprise me. Were there points that got a bit messy? Sure. But did it take away from my enjoyment? Not in the least. This is the best YA fantasy I've read in quite some time and I'm glad that I decided to pick it up.
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