by Kendra C Highley
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a weekend camping trip at the local state park.
Monsters are real. And living in his backyard.
But that's not the half of it. After Matt is forced to kill a strange creature to save his uncle, he finds out that the weird knife he took from his uncle's bag has a secret, one that will change Matt's life. The knife was designed with one purpose: to hunt monsters. And it's chosen Matt as its wielder.
Now Matt's part of a world he didn't know existed, working with a covert military unit dedicated to eliminating walking nightmares. Faced with a prophecy about a looming dark war, Matt soon realizes his upcoming Algebra test is the least of his worries.
Monsters are real. And living in his backyard.
But that's not the half of it. After Matt is forced to kill a strange creature to save his uncle, he finds out that the weird knife he took from his uncle's bag has a secret, one that will change Matt's life. The knife was designed with one purpose: to hunt monsters. And it's chosen Matt as its wielder.
Now Matt's part of a world he didn't know existed, working with a covert military unit dedicated to eliminating walking nightmares. Faced with a prophecy about a looming dark war, Matt soon realizes his upcoming Algebra test is the least of his worries.
His new double life leaves Matt wondering which is tougher: hunting monsters or asking Ella Mitchell for a date?
AUTHOR BIO
Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.
REVIEWS
5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared to stay up late! August 18, 2012
By riamachia
Format:Kindle Edition
Matt Archer is your average high school freshman, until he's attacked by a monster and finds out he's not. Average, that is. He's still 14, and has to cope with all the trials of school (& girls!) that come with that.
There are a lot of things I love about this book:
1) It's young adult, and there's no swearing. It may not mean much these days, but I was glad to read a story where even the adults manage to curb their language around the kids. I certainly try to.
2) The action doesn't stop. Seriously! I was up until after 1am because I couldn't put it down! And it's not all monster-violence, either - a lot of the book is about Matt and the people around him.
3) Perhaps my favorite aspect - the book flows smoothly. If there's dialog, it's smooth. If there's a segue of two months, it's smooth. I never had to wonder if I had missed something because the author didn't edit it correctly.
There are some very dark, but within-the-book realistic moments, so it isn't all action and fluff. Matt has a lot of emotional growth moments.
Mild spoiler ahead -
There are a lot of things I love about this book:
1) It's young adult, and there's no swearing. It may not mean much these days, but I was glad to read a story where even the adults manage to curb their language around the kids. I certainly try to.
2) The action doesn't stop. Seriously! I was up until after 1am because I couldn't put it down! And it's not all monster-violence, either - a lot of the book is about Matt and the people around him.
3) Perhaps my favorite aspect - the book flows smoothly. If there's dialog, it's smooth. If there's a segue of two months, it's smooth. I never had to wonder if I had missed something because the author didn't edit it correctly.
There are some very dark, but within-the-book realistic moments, so it isn't all action and fluff. Matt has a lot of emotional growth moments.
Mild spoiler ahead -
When discussing the origin of the monsters, I did worry slightly about a religious overtone to the book. It doesn't go there, though. There are a few references to the potential of the dark forces being from Hell, but it comes across as a more generic, all religions included, battle of good vs evil. I actually really appreciated that.
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific page turner! August 20, 2012
By AAMartin
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fourteen-year-old Matt Hunter struggles to absorb the knowledge that there are monsters in the world, and that a magic knife has chosen him to fight them. Matt matures, finds love (or at least some smooching), and kills a lot of monsters -- what's not to like? I thoroughly enjoyed this very competently composed YA/11+ read from first-time novelist Kendra C. Highley. Reminiscent of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, Matt is edgier, rawer -- perhaps in part because he lives in a universe filled with adults, both good and bad, as well as kids, whereas Percy's adventures take place in something more like a Neverland. Matt lives in the real word, albeit a real world inhabited by some pretty gruesome monsters. Terrific page turner; I stayed up half the night reading it, and now I can't wait for the next installment.
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