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Monster
Librarian's note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN: 0340590203 (ISBN13: 9780340590201)
Another hit from the New York Times bestselling author of Bury Me Deep. Mary Carlson had wanted to kill more than the two people she blew away with a shotgun at the party. And when her best friend Angela asks her why, Mary responds, "Because they're no longer human". At first Angela thinks she's crazy. But soon she discovers a horror so unimaginable, she wonders if she should have let Mary go on killing.
Another hit from the New York Times bestselling author of Bury Me Deep. Mary Carlson had wanted to kill more than the two people she blew away with a shotgun at the party. And when her best friend Angela asks her why, Mary responds, "Because they're no longer human". At first Angela thinks she's crazy. But soon she discovers a horror so unimaginable, she wonders if she should have let Mary go on killing.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
26 people are currently reading
1371 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
262 books5,479 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
October 4, 2023
Thriller about high school teenagers (mostly the ones on the football team and cheerleaders) who are beginning to act strangely. A fellow student (Mary) guns some down at a party, claiming they are monsters. Her best friend Angela thinks Mary is losing her mind, but later on, she starts to believe her.
This was a very captivating and well written book. But I ended up not liking the main character (Angela) and I found her and her attitude annoying, which spoiled my enjoyment of the story. I also wasn’t happy with a lot of characters I liked getting killed. An okay read by Christopher Pike.
This was a very captivating and well written book. But I ended up not liking the main character (Angela) and I found her and her attitude annoying, which spoiled my enjoyment of the story. I also wasn’t happy with a lot of characters I liked getting killed. An okay read by Christopher Pike.
April 19, 2018
“She had driven herself within an inch of death, and perhaps the alien organism that flowed in her veins had even helped her so far. But the human part of her couldn’t bear it. She was only eighteen. She didn’t want to die.”
Rarely can you use the terms powerful and poignant about a thriller with science fiction and horror elements aimed at teenagers, but it’s a testament to how good Christopher Pike is that you can with Monster. Don’t let the cover fool you; this is in many ways very adult, and riveting. This is the norm for Pike when he writes stories for those in their late teenage years. This one is from 1992 and it is both involving and somewhat gruesome without becoming too graphic. The young adults in this one — and all of Pike’s books — have a worldliness to them; they have sex or want to, and relate to each other in a very real manner emotionally. It gives Monster a grit and heart one might not expect, and makes what happens quite moving, even memorable. How often can you say that about young adult fiction, in any genre?
Monster starts off with a literal bang as pretty Mary Blanc walks into a party and shoots Todd Green and head cheerleader Kathy Baker, before desperately trying to kill her boyfriend, football jock Jim Kline. The newer girl in town, her friend Angela Warner, prevents her from murdering Jim, believing she is doing the right thing. Her belief that her friend has gone insane is only reinforced when the Vietnam veteran cop from the town of Point where they live, Nguyen, allows Angela to get Mary’s story — as he secretly tapes their conversation. And what a story it is, because Mary claims that the kids she murdered were no longer human, but monsters of some kind. She also claims they are murderers; apparently the kind who eat people and dispose of their remains. And she is very insistent that Jim Kline must also be killed, before THEY spread, and it’s too late…
I want to be careful here and not ruin what follows, but it’s very involving, and executed so deftly that after a while you just can’t put it down. As Angela, for the sake of friendship, looks into Mary’s ridiculous claims, and Nguyen keeps an eye on her, something happens which makes the ending both thrilling and poignant. It all has to do with Point Lake, a meteor, and a take on an old trope so fresh you almost won’t recognize it. Pike makes you care about the people involved, especially Angela and the sweet boy named Kevin who is in love with her. But in Angela’s eyes he’s just a good friend. Star quarterback Jim Kline, however, is another matter, and he has a very plausible explanation for Mary’s behavior which, no matter how hard she fights it, thrills Angela’s heart.
An amulet given to Angela by an Indian who knows the lake’s secrets, which has ties to another in Chile, may be all that stands between her and a hunger which begins to swallow her up after she spends time with Jim. No one is safe, not even Angela’s little dog Plastic, and as Nguyen tries to find the warehouse where Mary says Jim and the others murdered people, Angela wages a war within herself. When Mary is finally released on bail, things take an even darker and more gruesome turn. Nguyen doesn’t want to believe Mary’s story, but he knows something is very, very wrong, and takes heed of Angela’s words to him:
“Quit following me. Let me do what I have to do. By the time you know enough to believe what is happening, you’ll already be dead.”
There is a tense and thrilling climax that has you hoping for a way out, followed by an epilog which is sad and resonating. This is absolutely wonderful, even though it is a bit violent and gruesome. It never gets so ugly you want to turn away, but a scene in a basement will certainly tug at the heartstrings. As good as any book in the young adult horror genre you’ll ever read, it has that magic quality of real people thrown into horrific circumstances, making for tremendously terrific entertainment. Don’t hesitate, just pick up this one as quick as you can. So awesome I’d give this ten stars if I could!!!
Rarely can you use the terms powerful and poignant about a thriller with science fiction and horror elements aimed at teenagers, but it’s a testament to how good Christopher Pike is that you can with Monster. Don’t let the cover fool you; this is in many ways very adult, and riveting. This is the norm for Pike when he writes stories for those in their late teenage years. This one is from 1992 and it is both involving and somewhat gruesome without becoming too graphic. The young adults in this one — and all of Pike’s books — have a worldliness to them; they have sex or want to, and relate to each other in a very real manner emotionally. It gives Monster a grit and heart one might not expect, and makes what happens quite moving, even memorable. How often can you say that about young adult fiction, in any genre?
Monster starts off with a literal bang as pretty Mary Blanc walks into a party and shoots Todd Green and head cheerleader Kathy Baker, before desperately trying to kill her boyfriend, football jock Jim Kline. The newer girl in town, her friend Angela Warner, prevents her from murdering Jim, believing she is doing the right thing. Her belief that her friend has gone insane is only reinforced when the Vietnam veteran cop from the town of Point where they live, Nguyen, allows Angela to get Mary’s story — as he secretly tapes their conversation. And what a story it is, because Mary claims that the kids she murdered were no longer human, but monsters of some kind. She also claims they are murderers; apparently the kind who eat people and dispose of their remains. And she is very insistent that Jim Kline must also be killed, before THEY spread, and it’s too late…
I want to be careful here and not ruin what follows, but it’s very involving, and executed so deftly that after a while you just can’t put it down. As Angela, for the sake of friendship, looks into Mary’s ridiculous claims, and Nguyen keeps an eye on her, something happens which makes the ending both thrilling and poignant. It all has to do with Point Lake, a meteor, and a take on an old trope so fresh you almost won’t recognize it. Pike makes you care about the people involved, especially Angela and the sweet boy named Kevin who is in love with her. But in Angela’s eyes he’s just a good friend. Star quarterback Jim Kline, however, is another matter, and he has a very plausible explanation for Mary’s behavior which, no matter how hard she fights it, thrills Angela’s heart.
An amulet given to Angela by an Indian who knows the lake’s secrets, which has ties to another in Chile, may be all that stands between her and a hunger which begins to swallow her up after she spends time with Jim. No one is safe, not even Angela’s little dog Plastic, and as Nguyen tries to find the warehouse where Mary says Jim and the others murdered people, Angela wages a war within herself. When Mary is finally released on bail, things take an even darker and more gruesome turn. Nguyen doesn’t want to believe Mary’s story, but he knows something is very, very wrong, and takes heed of Angela’s words to him:
“Quit following me. Let me do what I have to do. By the time you know enough to believe what is happening, you’ll already be dead.”
There is a tense and thrilling climax that has you hoping for a way out, followed by an epilog which is sad and resonating. This is absolutely wonderful, even though it is a bit violent and gruesome. It never gets so ugly you want to turn away, but a scene in a basement will certainly tug at the heartstrings. As good as any book in the young adult horror genre you’ll ever read, it has that magic quality of real people thrown into horrific circumstances, making for tremendously terrific entertainment. Don’t hesitate, just pick up this one as quick as you can. So awesome I’d give this ten stars if I could!!!
February 13, 2017
Another re-read from my teenage years. Thankfully I have a crappy memory and forgot everything about the book other than how much I dig the cheesy, colorful cover.
While this one feels a little less complex than most of Pike's other works, Monster still wins in the plotting department. After Angela's friend Mary opens the book by walking in the door and shooting up some popular teens, Angela sets out to investigate why. Well, until she gets sidetracked by cute teenage jocks and weird Indian stories.
There's not much tension other than a scene or two at the end, and it's obvious there's something wrong with some of them from the start so there's little surprise, but finding out exactly what will happen to Angela by the end kept me hooked. There's definitely a dark note as deaths touch real close to home and Pike again dares to cross invisible moral boundaries. His writing style keeps it simple in this one, but I don't see myself outgrowing his prose.
It may not be as intricately clever and creative as most of Pike's other books, but it's still definitely worth a read.
While this one feels a little less complex than most of Pike's other works, Monster still wins in the plotting department. After Angela's friend Mary opens the book by walking in the door and shooting up some popular teens, Angela sets out to investigate why. Well, until she gets sidetracked by cute teenage jocks and weird Indian stories.
There's not much tension other than a scene or two at the end, and it's obvious there's something wrong with some of them from the start so there's little surprise, but finding out exactly what will happen to Angela by the end kept me hooked. There's definitely a dark note as deaths touch real close to home and Pike again dares to cross invisible moral boundaries. His writing style keeps it simple in this one, but I don't see myself outgrowing his prose.
It may not be as intricately clever and creative as most of Pike's other books, but it's still definitely worth a read.
June 12, 2007
I read this book when I was 11. All I remember are batlike creatures and lots of teenage sex. I ask nothing more.
May 20, 2019
“Angela Warner was on the couch finishing her third beer when Mary Blanc entered Jim Kline’s house carrying a loaded shotgun.”
Pike's best opening sentence.
Pike's best opening sentence.
August 29, 2009
"They were no longer human..."
This is my ultimate favorite out of all of Pike's books, second only to his equally terrifying horror masterpiece, "Whisper of Death".
"Monster" is very well written. It includes all the good ingredients of a classic horror novel, freaky metamorphosis included. Sometimes, it borders on downright horrifying. The main characters, as they struggle with the basic aspects of humanity and their new hunger are realistically done. This book does hint at evil, but it also offers a motive.
A quick summary: a teenage girl walks into a party with a shotgun and shoots two people. While going after a third she is stopped by her best friend, Angela. Once becoming friends with the third victim, Angela starts to notice strange things happening to her, as she tries to figure out what's going on, the symptoms continue to get worse.
Get ready for a story involving Native Indian Manton tribe and their folklore, specifically of the KAtuu and Sethia, or the Bath of Blood. Included is a pseudo-science and astronomy background about the explosion of the our solar system's original 5th planet which formed an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Justice is finally extracted, at a price. The innocent get trampled and demolished. This ending is not fair, and carries some of the most brutal killing scenes I have ever seen in any of his books.
Most of his stories are completely original, mini masterpieces that hide behind the young adult genre. I really think he deserves to be a lot more famous than he is.
Book Details:
Title Monster
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
This is my ultimate favorite out of all of Pike's books, second only to his equally terrifying horror masterpiece, "Whisper of Death".
"Monster" is very well written. It includes all the good ingredients of a classic horror novel, freaky metamorphosis included. Sometimes, it borders on downright horrifying. The main characters, as they struggle with the basic aspects of humanity and their new hunger are realistically done. This book does hint at evil, but it also offers a motive.
A quick summary: a teenage girl walks into a party with a shotgun and shoots two people. While going after a third she is stopped by her best friend, Angela. Once becoming friends with the third victim, Angela starts to notice strange things happening to her, as she tries to figure out what's going on, the symptoms continue to get worse.
Get ready for a story involving Native Indian Manton tribe and their folklore, specifically of the KAtuu and Sethia, or the Bath of Blood. Included is a pseudo-science and astronomy background about the explosion of the our solar system's original 5th planet which formed an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Justice is finally extracted, at a price. The innocent get trampled and demolished. This ending is not fair, and carries some of the most brutal killing scenes I have ever seen in any of his books.
Most of his stories are completely original, mini masterpieces that hide behind the young adult genre. I really think he deserves to be a lot more famous than he is.
Book Details:
Title Monster
Author Christopher Pike
Reviewed By Purplycookie
February 24, 2018
Oof. This is another re-read of a book from my childhood. I didn't specifically remember the plot of this one, but the cover felt very familiar, and since I tore through every Christopher Pike book available, I certainly must have read this one too. But wow, this one was rough. ...
So I wrote this whole long review about the dumb plot of this book, the traditional Christopher Pike fat-shaming, the traditional Christopher Pike Native-American-as- magical-spirit-guide trope, the constant non-consensual making out that happens, the ludicrous word salad that was the description of the dreams of the main character ("Now drops of blood fell as rain to earth. But wasn't that the fatal joke?" or "Such bittersweetness, this hunger, especially when it swam in the juices of previous harvests, around the raw flesh of the next unsuspecting victim.") But it all started to feel like pointless ridiculous nonsense. What I really want to tell you is this: The grandfather of the main character has a dog. And the dog's name is Plastic. No explanation for this dumb, dumb name. It is Plastic.
Plastic.
So I wrote this whole long review about the dumb plot of this book, the traditional Christopher Pike fat-shaming, the traditional Christopher Pike Native-American-as- magical-spirit-guide trope, the constant non-consensual making out that happens, the ludicrous word salad that was the description of the dreams of the main character ("Now drops of blood fell as rain to earth. But wasn't that the fatal joke?" or "Such bittersweetness, this hunger, especially when it swam in the juices of previous harvests, around the raw flesh of the next unsuspecting victim.") But it all started to feel like pointless ridiculous nonsense. What I really want to tell you is this: The grandfather of the main character has a dog. And the dog's name is Plastic. No explanation for this dumb, dumb name. It is Plastic.
Plastic.
March 2, 2017
I realize now that my tastes haven't changed much since I was a kid. This was one of my favourite Christopher Pike books (aside from Scavenger Hunt) and it was perfectly creepy and bonkers. Parts of it have always stayed with me.
November 27, 2022
L’ho letto come parte di un percorso di ricostruzione del mio rapporto con l’horror nella mia vita. Quando questi romanzi di Christopher Pike sono usciti nelle collane Young Adult italiane, l'horror mi faceva ancora troppo paura come genere; per cui mi ricordo che fissavo con terrore le copertine disegnate da Angelo Stano, chiedendomi se i romanzi fossero approcciabili o no. So di averne letto qualche pezzo o forse anche uno intero, però non so con certezza quale fosse. Dopo aver riletto prima L’avvoltoio e ora questo, non ho ancora esattamente ricostruito quale dei due sia stato (sicuramente era uno di questi, magari entrambi). Ma a prescindere, mi è piaciuto molto recuperare queste letture pre-adolescenziali, anche se ormai sono di varie decadi lontano da quell’età.
Monster è davvero un bel romanzo del terrore. Molto più movimentato dello slow burn dell’Avvoltoio, parte aggressivissimo con una scena di sangue che oggi non penso potrebbe entrare senza controversie in uno Young Adult americano: una ragazza imbraccia un fucile e va a fare strage di adolescenti.
Come spesso accade nelle storie di Pike, c’è un mistero da scoprire un po’ alla volta attraverso gli occhi della protagonista. In questo caso però la ragazza viene attivamente coinvolta nella faccenda in corso, entrando a fare parte del problema vero e proprio.
SPOILER ALERT
Qui siamo in un ambito di horror cosmico, con mostri parassitari che invadono il corpo umano rendendo l’ospite assetato di sangue. Ma non solo; c’è la contaminazione con l’alieno, la fusione delle identità, il non-umano che penetra nella mente e nella percezione umana. La backstory con la storia del pianeta di provenienza mi è piaciuta molto: poche pagine che concentrano una storia di orrore fantascientifico con la distruzione di un pianeta del sistema solare; e c’è anche la visione del mondo raccontata attraverso gli occhi degli alieni stessi.
Allo stesso tempo, in Monster è presente quella caratteristica di Pike che io definisco “alla Riverdale”, nel senso della serie tv. C’è il kitsch americano spinto che diventa camp, i cliché del racconto teen made in USA con le cheerleader e gli atleti della squadra di football, che però in questo caso sono interamente trasformati in mostri.
Questo è il lato più bello di Monster: il mostro con cui si confronta la protagonista è questo jock bono ma sinistro. Lei è così tanto in modalità “teenager arrapata” che non riesce a controllarsi e a lasciarlo da parte (si sospetta che ci sia stata una sorta di ipnosi). C’è parecchio female gaze nel modo in cui è raccontato il desiderio di questa protagonista, con qualche scena più appassionata davvero dark (la contaminazione deve passare attraverso lo scambio di sangue). Il lato romance, così strettamente legato a quello horror, rende questo romanzo ancora più intenso.
Come Young Adult, lo trovo cattivello, nel senso che non ha nessuna pietà per i personaggi. Muoiono quasi tutti in modi terribili, ma soprattutto non c’è salvezza per la protagonista. Assistiamo attraverso i suoi stessi occhi alla sua dannazione, che la porta persino a divorare il suo migliore amico (un’altra scena senza pietà, abbastanza truculenta, che racconta la protagonista secondo il trope della vorace donna vampiro). Il finale è veramente tetro: la ragazza, ormai trasformata in una creatura mostruosa, vive nei boschi senza memoria della sua natura precedente, a parte l’idea fissa che sia sbagliato mangiare gli umani.
Ovviamente ho apprezzato tantissimo tutte queste scelte, anche se metto un attimo in discussione l’opportunità di farlo leggere a ragazzini così giovani. In Italia a suo tempo era stato targettizzato “dai 12 anni in su”. Mi sembra troppo bassa come età per dare in pasto quello che è un vero romanzo horror, per quanto Young Adult nei temi e nell’esecuzione.
Un lato bello dei migliori Young Adult, compresi quelli di Christopher Pike, è che sono succinti, sotto le 200 pagine, senza per questo essere poco sviluppati o scritti male. Dovendo scegliere: meglio un romanzo ben fatto ma sintetico, al posto di uno esageratamente gonfiato solo per raggiungere un formato di 400 pagine per ragioni commerciali (mi capita spessissimo di trovarne di fatti così, in cui la sensazione che ti stiano facendo perdere tempo per nulla è fortissima).
A parte tutto, Monster è veramente bello e lo consiglierei anche a quegli amanti dell’horror che non hanno una passione per lo Young Adult.
Monster è davvero un bel romanzo del terrore. Molto più movimentato dello slow burn dell’Avvoltoio, parte aggressivissimo con una scena di sangue che oggi non penso potrebbe entrare senza controversie in uno Young Adult americano: una ragazza imbraccia un fucile e va a fare strage di adolescenti.
Come spesso accade nelle storie di Pike, c’è un mistero da scoprire un po’ alla volta attraverso gli occhi della protagonista. In questo caso però la ragazza viene attivamente coinvolta nella faccenda in corso, entrando a fare parte del problema vero e proprio.
SPOILER ALERT
Qui siamo in un ambito di horror cosmico, con mostri parassitari che invadono il corpo umano rendendo l’ospite assetato di sangue. Ma non solo; c’è la contaminazione con l’alieno, la fusione delle identità, il non-umano che penetra nella mente e nella percezione umana. La backstory con la storia del pianeta di provenienza mi è piaciuta molto: poche pagine che concentrano una storia di orrore fantascientifico con la distruzione di un pianeta del sistema solare; e c’è anche la visione del mondo raccontata attraverso gli occhi degli alieni stessi.
Allo stesso tempo, in Monster è presente quella caratteristica di Pike che io definisco “alla Riverdale”, nel senso della serie tv. C’è il kitsch americano spinto che diventa camp, i cliché del racconto teen made in USA con le cheerleader e gli atleti della squadra di football, che però in questo caso sono interamente trasformati in mostri.
Questo è il lato più bello di Monster: il mostro con cui si confronta la protagonista è questo jock bono ma sinistro. Lei è così tanto in modalità “teenager arrapata” che non riesce a controllarsi e a lasciarlo da parte (si sospetta che ci sia stata una sorta di ipnosi). C’è parecchio female gaze nel modo in cui è raccontato il desiderio di questa protagonista, con qualche scena più appassionata davvero dark (la contaminazione deve passare attraverso lo scambio di sangue). Il lato romance, così strettamente legato a quello horror, rende questo romanzo ancora più intenso.
Come Young Adult, lo trovo cattivello, nel senso che non ha nessuna pietà per i personaggi. Muoiono quasi tutti in modi terribili, ma soprattutto non c’è salvezza per la protagonista. Assistiamo attraverso i suoi stessi occhi alla sua dannazione, che la porta persino a divorare il suo migliore amico (un’altra scena senza pietà, abbastanza truculenta, che racconta la protagonista secondo il trope della vorace donna vampiro). Il finale è veramente tetro: la ragazza, ormai trasformata in una creatura mostruosa, vive nei boschi senza memoria della sua natura precedente, a parte l’idea fissa che sia sbagliato mangiare gli umani.
Ovviamente ho apprezzato tantissimo tutte queste scelte, anche se metto un attimo in discussione l’opportunità di farlo leggere a ragazzini così giovani. In Italia a suo tempo era stato targettizzato “dai 12 anni in su”. Mi sembra troppo bassa come età per dare in pasto quello che è un vero romanzo horror, per quanto Young Adult nei temi e nell’esecuzione.
Un lato bello dei migliori Young Adult, compresi quelli di Christopher Pike, è che sono succinti, sotto le 200 pagine, senza per questo essere poco sviluppati o scritti male. Dovendo scegliere: meglio un romanzo ben fatto ma sintetico, al posto di uno esageratamente gonfiato solo per raggiungere un formato di 400 pagine per ragioni commerciali (mi capita spessissimo di trovarne di fatti così, in cui la sensazione che ti stiano facendo perdere tempo per nulla è fortissima).
A parte tutto, Monster è veramente bello e lo consiglierei anche a quegli amanti dell’horror che non hanno una passione per lo Young Adult.
August 20, 2015
Тийн-парти нейде из Щатите, което сте гледали по филмите - куп гимназисти пият, повръщат, правят глупости, натискат се, най-големите късметлии клатят мацки нейде по стаите и прочее благини. Внезапно нахълтва една бамбина, дето досега не е била на партито, помъкнала ловджийската пушка на баща си и гръмва един ръгбист и една мажоретка, след което погва досегашното си гадже, дето е бил на купона. Оня се отърва, мацката я затварят, а най-добрата й приятелка тръгва по дирите на това, което е преследвала лудата ловджийка - според нея тези, които иска да убие са чудовища, само кухи черупки, обитавани от нещо като лоши извънземни. Брях.
April 4, 2009
So many years later and I still remember this book - it starts out with a stunning scene and never lets up until the end. One of Pike's best thrillers.
April 27, 2024
This book was a total surprise. I know that other reviewers call it predictable, in that, once you find out the big reveal, that's it. The big reveal is not a misdirection. That said, wow! For a YA book Monster is dark, brutal, and bleak. I did not expect how far this book would push the boundaries in terms of violence, gore, and dark content. The end of chapter 13 actually left me open-mouthed with shock. Not lying. Lol!
This is a book that will turn some folks off pretty quickly. Our female protagonist is not a pure-as-snow good girl. She is pretty ruthless, in fact, and that's before she is changed by what she experiences. There are also chapters told from an adult detective's POV, but he is one of the few likable characters in this book. Officer Nguyen was once a South Vietnamese soldier in the Vietnam War. Sometimes we get flashbacks to what he experienced in the war, and how the current events that are playing out in the book somehow eclipse even the cruelty of Vietnam, and there is a metaphor that links Nguyen's past and present circumstances. Regardless, some teenagers and tweens might not be interested in an adult perspective in their YA books, but I liked Nguyen a lot.
Though his books don't always work for me, the thing I always admire about Christopher Pike is that he swings for the fences. He does not write safe, predictable, by-the-numbers books. He always tried to elevate his YA horror and go for a more unpredictable approach, as opposed to RL Stine's Fear Street books, which are usually by-the-numbers.
Monster may not have been a total homerun for me. It drags just a bit, and I did not really connect with Angela-she is a hard heroine to like. That said, I will definitely be reading more Christopher Pike books. Thank you, Mr. Pike, for not talking down to your teenage audience and for giving them a YA horror novel with some teeth! Thank you also to the parents of yesteryear, who were not clutching their pearls at the thought of their kids reading something like this. They were just happy their kids were reading at all.
This is a book that will turn some folks off pretty quickly. Our female protagonist is not a pure-as-snow good girl. She is pretty ruthless, in fact, and that's before she is changed by what she experiences. There are also chapters told from an adult detective's POV, but he is one of the few likable characters in this book. Officer Nguyen was once a South Vietnamese soldier in the Vietnam War. Sometimes we get flashbacks to what he experienced in the war, and how the current events that are playing out in the book somehow eclipse even the cruelty of Vietnam, and there is a metaphor that links Nguyen's past and present circumstances. Regardless, some teenagers and tweens might not be interested in an adult perspective in their YA books, but I liked Nguyen a lot.
Though his books don't always work for me, the thing I always admire about Christopher Pike is that he swings for the fences. He does not write safe, predictable, by-the-numbers books. He always tried to elevate his YA horror and go for a more unpredictable approach, as opposed to RL Stine's Fear Street books, which are usually by-the-numbers.
Monster may not have been a total homerun for me. It drags just a bit, and I did not really connect with Angela-she is a hard heroine to like. That said, I will definitely be reading more Christopher Pike books. Thank you, Mr. Pike, for not talking down to your teenage audience and for giving them a YA horror novel with some teeth! Thank you also to the parents of yesteryear, who were not clutching their pearls at the thought of their kids reading something like this. They were just happy their kids were reading at all.
July 24, 2017
UGH finally! A lot of people say this is one of Pike's best but I thought it was a real snooze. It took me 70 years to read. However, the ending was BEYOND perfect, and it was hands down one of his best endings ever; I'll give him that for sure.
But they never explain why the dog's name is Plastic! In a book about sexy vampire aliens, I found that the hardest part to believe!
But they never explain why the dog's name is Plastic! In a book about sexy vampire aliens, I found that the hardest part to believe!
December 9, 2017
Better than I expected. The pre-teen me would have really enjoyed this.
April 22, 2021
5 stars. I absolutely love this. Who doesn't want to read about alien vampire parasites that cause people to become cannibals? A great time. Review to come.
November 10, 2022
Rounded up 4.5 stars
Pike of course has his way of going all otherworldly and existential that has a way of making me feel utterly confused and naive which starts to bore me but delivers everything else so perfectly it more than makes up for it.
Angela Warner is new to town, living with her grandfather while her parents go through a divorce, and she's been invited to a party by her best friend Mary Blanc's boyfriend Jim Kline, quarterback at Point High School.
Three months and things seem to be okay in this town if only a little dull.
Mary shows up at the party with a loaded shotgun and blows away linebacker Todd Green and head cheerleader Kathy Baker in all gory detail.
Her next target...is Jim.
Angela tries to stop Mary and hears her say she has to kill Jim because...he's not human.
In plain clothes, Lieutenant Nguyen stops Mary from shooting Angela when she finds Jim and tries to protect him. Jim gets a bullet in the leg and Mary a shot wrist and a concussion from the butt of the officer's gun hitting her in the back of the head.
The next morning, Angela goes to talk to Mary after getting Nguyen's permission after he questions her. The girls have a conversation where Mary tells her best friend that she killed Todd and Kathy and tried to kill Jim because they were no longer human...they were monsters.
Angela thinks Mary has just gone crazy once she goes through an explanation of why she thinks the teens were responsible for killing people. Mary tells Angela to stay away from Jim.
At the funerals, Jim approaches Angela and wants to talk to her about Mary. Angela can't get Mary's words out of her her head but says yes. She can't help being attracted to him...
Her other friend Kevin listens to Angela's story about her conversation with Mary. He thinks it might have something to do with kids getting sick from drinking the water that comes from Point Lake, a water source said to be created by a meteor.
Angela isn't sure what to think when it's clear that Jim has an interest in her and it leads to a walk by the lake, hot and heavy kissing, a flirty chase where Jim hurts his arm and then bleeds all over Angela and she can't help but be turned on.
That night she starts having strange dreams and the next morning, learning from Kevin, that a football player on the opposing football team is now paralyzed from the neck down. The Point player responsible named Larry was said by Mary in their last conversation to be a possible suspect for being a monster...after being in the company of Todd, Kathy and Jim.
With Mary still in jail, Angela tries to discover what is the truth behind all of this. Is her best friend going crazy? Are Jim, the other football players and cheerleaders really monsters?
Angela finds leads to give her the answers but in the end...she'll wish she had never heard the name Jim Kline or moved to Point.
For anyone who has not read this, I can't go into much more detail without spoiling the whole story but it has all of the typical Pike craziness and horror and sex paired with understanding of the human condition. The story becomes heartbreaking and macabre to finally end on such a poignant yet utterly depressing ending.
Monster is one of the best Christopher Pike books I have read so far. Visceral and gut-wrenching.
I highly recommend it.
Pike of course has his way of going all otherworldly and existential that has a way of making me feel utterly confused and naive which starts to bore me but delivers everything else so perfectly it more than makes up for it.
Angela Warner is new to town, living with her grandfather while her parents go through a divorce, and she's been invited to a party by her best friend Mary Blanc's boyfriend Jim Kline, quarterback at Point High School.
Three months and things seem to be okay in this town if only a little dull.
Mary shows up at the party with a loaded shotgun and blows away linebacker Todd Green and head cheerleader Kathy Baker in all gory detail.
Her next target...is Jim.
Angela tries to stop Mary and hears her say she has to kill Jim because...he's not human.
In plain clothes, Lieutenant Nguyen stops Mary from shooting Angela when she finds Jim and tries to protect him. Jim gets a bullet in the leg and Mary a shot wrist and a concussion from the butt of the officer's gun hitting her in the back of the head.
The next morning, Angela goes to talk to Mary after getting Nguyen's permission after he questions her. The girls have a conversation where Mary tells her best friend that she killed Todd and Kathy and tried to kill Jim because they were no longer human...they were monsters.
Angela thinks Mary has just gone crazy once she goes through an explanation of why she thinks the teens were responsible for killing people. Mary tells Angela to stay away from Jim.
At the funerals, Jim approaches Angela and wants to talk to her about Mary. Angela can't get Mary's words out of her her head but says yes. She can't help being attracted to him...
Her other friend Kevin listens to Angela's story about her conversation with Mary. He thinks it might have something to do with kids getting sick from drinking the water that comes from Point Lake, a water source said to be created by a meteor.
Angela isn't sure what to think when it's clear that Jim has an interest in her and it leads to a walk by the lake, hot and heavy kissing, a flirty chase where Jim hurts his arm and then bleeds all over Angela and she can't help but be turned on.
That night she starts having strange dreams and the next morning, learning from Kevin, that a football player on the opposing football team is now paralyzed from the neck down. The Point player responsible named Larry was said by Mary in their last conversation to be a possible suspect for being a monster...after being in the company of Todd, Kathy and Jim.
With Mary still in jail, Angela tries to discover what is the truth behind all of this. Is her best friend going crazy? Are Jim, the other football players and cheerleaders really monsters?
Angela finds leads to give her the answers but in the end...she'll wish she had never heard the name Jim Kline or moved to Point.
For anyone who has not read this, I can't go into much more detail without spoiling the whole story but it has all of the typical Pike craziness and horror and sex paired with understanding of the human condition. The story becomes heartbreaking and macabre to finally end on such a poignant yet utterly depressing ending.
Monster is one of the best Christopher Pike books I have read so far. Visceral and gut-wrenching.
I highly recommend it.
April 16, 2025
Man, this is the craziest book I've ever read. Utterly stupid, and I loved it!
April 28, 2019
Angela is a relative newcomer to the small town of Point. She moved in with her grandfather after her parents went through an ugly divorce. She figures that Point will be quiet and peaceful, but she's wrong. Angela is at a party when Mary, her best friend, bursts in and starts shooting people with a shotgun. It's horrific, but Mary doesn't seem out of control - she seems to have some kind of goal. She tries to make Jim, her own boyfriend, her final victim, but Angela and a police officer manage to stop her.
After the shooting (which is pretty graphic - be aware of this if school shootings and similar situations are an issue for you), Angela tries to find out why Mary did it. All Mary will tell her is that the people she shot were monsters. She warns Angela to stay away from Jim, but Angela feels herself drawn to him. She has secretly been nursing a crush on him, holding back only because he was dating her best friend. But now that Mary is a killer, Jim is fair game, right? Except what if Mary is right? What if Jim really is a monster?
I knew going in that I had probably read this before, just because of how familiar the cover looked, but I couldn't remember anything about it. Or at least I thought I couldn't. Early on, I pulled a wild guess as to what was going on with Jim out of thin air. I was right, so maybe I retained more of this book than I realized. And I definitely remembered reading the last few pages before.
I disliked Angela. Some of what she thought and did could have been blamed on Jim's affect on her, but not all of it. Angela's taste in guys was abysmal. Jim was the kind of guy who only cared about himself. At one point, his and Angela's conversations touched on the environment, and Jim made it clear that the world only exists for the pleasure of the current generation. Who cares about future generations and what they'll have to live with? He also dipped into potential rapist territory, as he tried to push Angela into sexual behavior she wasn't 100% comfortable with. When he literally bled all over her during a make-out session, I wanted to shake her in frustration. Even Angela knew, on some level, that was he was doing was worrisome, but she waited far too long before looking into what might be going on and trying to fight it.
There was another character, Kevin, who I suspect readers were supposed to interpret as the "nice guy" right under Angela's nose, who she'd have been better off choosing. Unfortunately, I didn't think Kevin was much better. When readers first met him, he and Angela did some kind of roleplaying inside joke where she pretended he was the "other man" sneaking into her and her husband's house for a quickie. WTF? They were teens. They weren't in a relationship - Kevin was interested, and Angela wasn't. And yet she still did this weird adultery roleplay with him? Who does that?
If you like weird Christopher Pike books, this definitely has weirdness. There are dreams of an alien world, one where blood rains from the sky. There's a so-brief-you-might-miss-it mention of a technologically advanced ancient civilization (humans!), with space travel and ray guns. And bat-like things.
Pike included something I don't see much in current YA: an adult POV character. Nguyen was a local cop and Vietnam War vet. I appreciated that he wasn't an idiot and knew enough to keep an eye on Angela - this was not one of those books where teens repeatedly outsmart supposedly experienced cops (genuine monsters were another issue entirely). I think Nguyen was the only on-page adult in the entire book, however. I still think it's odd that Angela's grandfather never had an on-page moment, not even right after the shooting. Even though he didn't seem to be very much into parenting, you'd think he'd still have been at least the tiniest bit worried about his granddaughter.
I can't say that I liked this, but I didn't dislike it either. Angela was frustrating, and I really could have done without the book's sexual aspects (Angela literally got turned on by oil wells, OMG), but I enjoyed the weirdness and wanted to see how everything was going to turn out. And hey, there's a standoffish collie named Plastic! Who survives, in case I have now worried you.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
After the shooting (which is pretty graphic - be aware of this if school shootings and similar situations are an issue for you), Angela tries to find out why Mary did it. All Mary will tell her is that the people she shot were monsters. She warns Angela to stay away from Jim, but Angela feels herself drawn to him. She has secretly been nursing a crush on him, holding back only because he was dating her best friend. But now that Mary is a killer, Jim is fair game, right? Except what if Mary is right? What if Jim really is a monster?
I knew going in that I had probably read this before, just because of how familiar the cover looked, but I couldn't remember anything about it. Or at least I thought I couldn't. Early on, I pulled a wild guess as to what was going on with Jim out of thin air. I was right, so maybe I retained more of this book than I realized. And I definitely remembered reading the last few pages before.
I disliked Angela. Some of what she thought and did could have been blamed on Jim's affect on her, but not all of it. Angela's taste in guys was abysmal. Jim was the kind of guy who only cared about himself. At one point, his and Angela's conversations touched on the environment, and Jim made it clear that the world only exists for the pleasure of the current generation. Who cares about future generations and what they'll have to live with? He also dipped into potential rapist territory, as he tried to push Angela into sexual behavior she wasn't 100% comfortable with. When he literally bled all over her during a make-out session, I wanted to shake her in frustration. Even Angela knew, on some level, that was he was doing was worrisome, but she waited far too long before looking into what might be going on and trying to fight it.
There was another character, Kevin, who I suspect readers were supposed to interpret as the "nice guy" right under Angela's nose, who she'd have been better off choosing. Unfortunately, I didn't think Kevin was much better. When readers first met him, he and Angela did some kind of roleplaying inside joke where she pretended he was the "other man" sneaking into her and her husband's house for a quickie. WTF? They were teens. They weren't in a relationship - Kevin was interested, and Angela wasn't. And yet she still did this weird adultery roleplay with him? Who does that?
If you like weird Christopher Pike books, this definitely has weirdness. There are dreams of an alien world, one where blood rains from the sky. There's a so-brief-you-might-miss-it mention of a technologically advanced ancient civilization (humans!), with space travel and ray guns. And bat-like things.
Pike included something I don't see much in current YA: an adult POV character. Nguyen was a local cop and Vietnam War vet. I appreciated that he wasn't an idiot and knew enough to keep an eye on Angela - this was not one of those books where teens repeatedly outsmart supposedly experienced cops (genuine monsters were another issue entirely). I think Nguyen was the only on-page adult in the entire book, however. I still think it's odd that Angela's grandfather never had an on-page moment, not even right after the shooting. Even though he didn't seem to be very much into parenting, you'd think he'd still have been at least the tiniest bit worried about his granddaughter.
I can't say that I liked this, but I didn't dislike it either. Angela was frustrating, and I really could have done without the book's sexual aspects (Angela literally got turned on by oil wells, OMG), but I enjoyed the weirdness and wanted to see how everything was going to turn out. And hey, there's a standoffish collie named Plastic! Who survives, in case I have now worried you.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
April 11, 2025
Mary walks into a party and shoots dead two of her classmates before she can kill the third, her boyfriend Jim, her friend, Angela intervenes. When asked Mary says they had to die as they are no longer human. Angela investigates with her friend Kevin, followed closely by Nguyen, the detective who wants to know what is happening but Angela suddenly has a taste for blood and things soon spiral into madness.
Well finally after two very unsatisfactory Pike books this is fantastic. It feels very adult in its horror and the teenagers seem older and more capable of good and evil. Mixing the native mythology with an old horror trope twisted into something very different, this is a one sitting read as you will be desperate to know what happens next.
Gory and shockingly violent from the outset this serves as an ecological warning. Sometimes myths offer advice that should be taken seriously.
Well finally after two very unsatisfactory Pike books this is fantastic. It feels very adult in its horror and the teenagers seem older and more capable of good and evil. Mixing the native mythology with an old horror trope twisted into something very different, this is a one sitting read as you will be desperate to know what happens next.
Gory and shockingly violent from the outset this serves as an ecological warning. Sometimes myths offer advice that should be taken seriously.
October 26, 2020
Monster is by far the best & the gore-iest book we've read so far. Loves it.
Check out our full thoughts of Monster on The PikeCast!
Monster episode will premiere on November 12!
You can find The PikeCast on both Spotify and Apple, along with:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Goodreads Group
Check out our full thoughts of Monster on The PikeCast!
Monster episode will premiere on November 12!
You can find The PikeCast on both Spotify and Apple, along with:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Goodreads Group
August 23, 2020
Read this in middle school, and even though I didn’t like it much at the time, the scene with Angela and Mary towards the end was so traumatizing for me, that it is forever burned in my memory. Decided to reread it and it’s better than I remember. Such good storytelling and a chilling premise. Holds up even years later.
March 20, 2021
Доста шаблонна и клиширана история. Имаме кръвожадни, извънземни създания, древни индиански предания и легенди и прочие.
Като стил на писане също нищо особено. На места звучи доста наивно, цели пасажи могат да се пропуснат, без да повлияе на сюжета.
Все пак, усещането от четенето на "Чудовище" е като гледаш стар B-movie хорър - знаеш, че продукцията ще е калпава, но именно там е забавлението.
Като стил на писане също нищо особено. На места звучи доста наивно, цели пасажи могат да се пропуснат, без да повлияе на сюжета.
Все пак, усещането от четенето на "Чудовище" е като гледаш стар B-movie хорър - знаеш, че продукцията ще е калпава, но именно там е забавлението.
January 10, 2023
The opening of this is excellent!
January 8, 2024
This was my favorite book growing up! I felt uneasy for weeks after reading it… pretty sure I read it twice
September 17, 2023
4.5 stars. An ominous and suspenseful read. Highly recommended for fans of The Faculty. Has some decent gore for a YA novel too.
February 26, 2024
This was a favorite of mine as a kid and it still holds up.
April 21, 2009
Pike is so re-readable because there's always some matter of folklore or legend intertwined into his storylines. Though the plots may seem especially young adult, with titles like "Monster," there is much more involved in making his books creepy in a most realistic way. This book begins with a high school girl crashing a party with her shotgun and killing two people and trying to kill a third before her friend, Angela, stops her. I loved Angela's evolution through the book - the final page really gave me goosebumps.
April 7, 2008
i like this book, it's intense and has a lot of action. At a party, Mary Blanc walks in and started shooting people. She was arrested and put into jail. She said she killed them because they turned into monsters. Her best friend begins to dig deeper about what Mary said the finds something horrifying. At the end, she turned also turned into a monster.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2012
I disagree with the classification of this book as young adult. IMO, this book is more juvenile adult, with a slightly pulpy odor. The horror YA genre has really taken off with well written, lyrical, deeply moving stories like A Monster Calls, The Reapers are the Angels, and Rot and Ruin. This book is a pale, often silly imitation.
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