Monster (Gone #7... kind of) by Michael Grant 3/5 stars

Hey, guys! Sorry, I haven't posted much recently. There's much less time to read at college!

As long-time readers will know, I loved Michael Grant books. The Gone and BZRK series are some of my favorite series of all time. They felt so real to me, and I loved the action and ideas behind them. When I heard that Michael Grant was writing a sequeling series to Gone (so Monster is technically book 7 but has different characters), I was skeptical. I've read some great sequel-series and some awful ones. I wondered what the story would even be since everything was resolved. I'm honestly still wondering that after reading it. 

I decided to give it a shot because I had faith in one of my favorite authors. Now, I'm not sure if that faith was justified.

The Cover:

The Cover:

It shows the main character, Shade, running with her insect persona shadow behind her. It's a kind of cheesy cover, but the image itself fits the book surprisingly well. A- cover

Official Description:

When the dome came down, they thought it was the end of the troubles. Truth is, it was just the beginning.
Shade Darby witnessed events that day, with devastating consequences, and vowed never to feel that powerless again. Now, four years later, she gets her hands on a part of the meteor that began it all – and that’s when she changes.
Trouble is, Shade’s not the only one mutating, and the authorities cannot allow these superpowers to go unchecked...

My Review:

This book was basically an alternate version of the Gone series but with adults and teens getting powers and where there isn't a dome (and, therefore, isn't like Lord of the Flies). More meteors like the one at Perdido Beach are falling across the earth and more people are getting powers. Also, instead of getting fun superpowers like telekinesis, they get weird superpowers like being half-insect. 

Honestly, my first impression of this book was wondering who would actually want the power. You can shapeshift into an ugly monster. Why do you want that? I read the book, and I have no clue. Yet, people knew what they were getting into and still snorted the alien, power-giving rock like it was cocaine. 

The actual book was exciting. It was fast-paced and obviously setting up what will be an epic series. It was fast-paced, and I ended up reading it mainly in an afternoon (in an airport without WiFi but who's counting). 

However, the characters and the writing were lacking the Michael Grant charm I've learned to expect. 

The characters were too flat. They all had a defining characteristic that they stuck to the whole time. There was Shade: the mysterious girl; Malik: devoted ex-boyfriend; Dekka: honorable but depressed. Everyone stuck to their roles for the entirety of the book. Any character development that occurred was obvious from the beginning. 

Michael Grant also decided that he was going to appeal to the current hot topic in YA books in order to sell more books. He tried to be inclusive and prove a point by being progressive. For example, the protagonist's best friend is a trans girl. I have no problem with making efforts to be more inclusive and have representation for all groups, but it can be well done, and it can be poorly done. It feels as though someone told Grant to be more inclusive to sell more books, and he took their advice without it really being a part of the story. It can feel natural and inspiring (the books we need for these groups) or artificial and just sleezy feeling (this book). In order for some of these themes to fit in, they have to be authentic. It's not just books. For example, in TV you can see this. The gay relationship in How to Get Away With Murder is much more woven in and authentic than the one in Gotham. It's just a matter of execution. Some sentences were forced into Monster to prove a point of inclusivity, and these sentences felt so out of place that I'd often have to reread them to make sure I didn't miss a change of subject. 

One big example was when Grant called one of the characters a "big white boy" many, many times (roughly 15 times in 30 pages). I understand that our current society has a problem with having a "default race" of being white. I agree that this isn't fair, that you should have to declare each characters race if you do one. Sure. I'm all for that. But, each time you mention him? It's excessive. They didn't mention Dekka being black more than like twice in the whole book, and she was a much bigger character. Each time "big white boy" was mentioned, I paused. While it isn't a good system, I am used to the "default race," so I would question each time if he was just "big" or is he "big for a white boy"? There's a different meaning, and it just caused me some confusion that ruined my immersion.

For fans of the Gone series, there are cameos from other characters. Dekka is a main character and Drake and Sam are mentioned a few times. I get the impression that the earlier characters will make more appearances as the series goes on, so there'll be plenty of chances to read of your favorite characters again!

Overall, the book was fine. On the surface level, it did everything the description promises. I just wasn't hooked by the characters and found the superpowers to just be gross and unappealing. (Everyone wants to manipulate gravity, but does anyone want a lobster-claw hand?) I don't think that I'm going to read the next one, but I did finish this one. It was a solid 3-star book, definitely not up to the 5-star rating I expect from Michael Grant, but it was still decent. 

Phrase:

Just swallow the rock down with some peanut butter

*Note: Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review*