Description

Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2022
Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month for October 2021
Winner of the Honour Award for Fiction, KPMG Irish Children’s Book Awards 2021

Sometimes the monsters take us. Sometimes we become the monsters.

Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world.

But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren’t necessarily the ones you can see.

A thought-provoking, chilling and beautifully written novel, Padraig Kenny’s The Monsters of Rookhhaven, stunningly illustrated by Edward Bettison, explores difference and empathy through the eyes of characters you won’t want to let go.

‘A stunning book . . . a brand new take on the monster story’ Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl

‘A magnificent, shadowy, gothic adventure full of heart’ Emma Carroll

‘A wildly imaginative story . . . a triumph’ Irish Examiner

Publisher Review

The (much) older reader will thrill at how this book subverts hackneyed monster tropes with glee, and how Kenny drops an S-bomb on page one ("sibilance"), crediting readers with the wherewithal to handle a polysyllable. But make no mistake, this is a children's book, in a big font size, magnificently illustrated by Edward Bettison. * The Guardian * Tin is a remarkably assured debut novel, full of imagination, and his fascinating mechanicals are as carefully crafted as the plot * Irish Independent * Full of empathy, anger, sorrow and love, this is a robot story squarely focused on what it means to be human * Guardian on TIN * One of a kind. Utterly fantastic. * Eoin Colfer on TIN * Kenny is adept at harnessing the potential for child-pleasing humour... His characterization is a particular strength * Times Literary Supplement on TIN * Kenny is a thrilling writer who knows how to chill his readers * Telegraph * I loved this quirky tale of family and friendship, set in the Shirley Jackson-esque small town of Rookhaven * Kelly McGaughrain * Kenny embraces a new Gothic sensibility in this memorable, nuanced novel that pairs real chills with empathy and emotion. He's certainly a name to watch. * Bookseller * Original and inventive, this fantasy adventure with a touch of the macabre features some of the most unusual monster characters I've ever come across in children's literature. Written with such confidence and delight, it's the perfect read for fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. * Sarah Webb * A wildly imaginative story . . . And if the opening sentence is extraordinary, the last line is a triumph * Irish Examiner * A totally absorbing tale . . . magnificently illustrated by Edward Bettison * Guardian * Confidence, imagination and an ability to pluck the reader's heartstrings confirm confirm Kenny as a writer of serious talent * Guardian * Unique, thrilling and moving . . . with its timely - yet timeless - message of choosing empathy over fear, The Monsters of Rookhaven is proof that Padraig Kenny is one of the best children's writers around -- Shane Hegarty, author of Darkmouth A magnificent, shadowy, gothic adventure full of heart, with the best first and final sentences in any book you'll ever read. * Emma Carroll * A stunning book . . . a brand new take on the monster story * Eoin Colfer * One of the most startlingly original children's books I've read in years. It feels like Padraig Kenny with Edward Bettison's mesmerizing illustrations, has created a whole new genre -- Piers Torday