Monster Road

by David Lubar

When his wacky scientist uncle Ned accidentally uses his high-tech "life-ray" on a wacky old graveyard, Ned and Kevin are forced to skip town, with the reawakened monsters in hot pursuit. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

David Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; several short story collections: In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, and Attack of the Vampire Weenies; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and he has also lived in New Brunswick, Edison and Piscataway, NJ, and Sacramento, CA. Besides writing, he has also worked as a video game programmer and designer. He now lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidl...

Reviews

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not in target age range for this book, and as a middle-schooler my son probably isn't either. I found it in his room, but he claims not to know where it came from. No matter. I opened it up and was glad I did. At the time, I was feeling tired and beat, and incapable of dealing with the hefty tomes on my bedside table. This was light, silly, and all in fun. Sometimes that's just what any of us needs.

[OliveTree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is there to say? It's just a good book. I read this as a kid. It's more than just a funny spooky romp via unreasonably unlucky road trip, it's an interesting story about failure and family and wtf its so good and fun why it has no right to be as good as it is.

[smalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book from my dad. Origionally he got it for my nephew to see if he could get him to read it. My dad enjoyed the book and it's quirky ways the monsters meet their demise. I liked it. It was fairly predictable though for me. The ending was the best part for me. I also loved the relationship between the uncle and the nephew. The nephew reminded me of my own son. And how he gets into trouble without really meaning to get into trouble. It was a cute book, and I think my daughter will love reading it. I also think my son will love it next year when he is old enough to read it. I will let you all know my 8 year olds thoughts when she gets to read it.

[Kayt Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a kid I read this book countless times and loved it. As an adult now, I still appreciate the clever, slapstick humor, and the subtle way it deals with grief/big life changes for kids and emphasizes how adults in their lives aren't perfect either. I gave this book to my SD to read when she was younger, and she enjoyed it as well. I'm hoping to pass it down to my son as he's finally at the age & level to read chapter books and fully enjoy the silliness.

[Amanda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo much fun! An uncle and his nephew go on a road trip (after accidentally raising the dead in their neighborhood cemetery) and have one strange encounter after another with various monsters. Love the comedic style that David Lubar offers in this book while covering difficult topics for kids such as grief and belonging

[Nicole Minken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book ever for a very long time when I was a kid! I'd still go back and read it now as an adult.

[Robert Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun ride with plenty of monsters. The opening chapter is particularly well done, which makes sense as it was originally a stand alone short story. The final chapter too is great fun as it wraps up the troubles that began in the first chapter. What kept me from giving a fifth star to the rating is that in-between those two chapters, our hero just sort of meanders from one road stop to the next where he unwittingly outwits monsters.

There's a certain charm to that, and to the main character and his uncle. But there's nothing really driving the characters except their desire to stay out of town for a while after they accidentally raise the dead. I kept thinking that somehow their monster troubles would prove to be their fault - somehow tied back to that failed experiment. But that wasn't the case.

Still, I enjoyed the ride with Kevin and Uncle Ned and had fun watching them bumble their way to safety, one monster encounter after the other. But for me, the first and final chapters -- when Kevin and Ned decide to go back and face the music -- that's what really elevates the book and makes it something special.

[Dotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a same this is OP. Great fun read!

The first chapter of this book sets the tone for the whole book. The title of the chapter, “Uncle Ned Raises the Dead,” is an apt description of the events. And since Uncle Ned’s life ray brings a few bodies out of the local graveyard, he and his nephew, Kevin, decide to leave town on a vacation and thus begins their journey on Monster Road.

[Caticorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and creative. It put a whole bunch of monster stories together. There were some funny peanut butter and jelly sandwiches parts in the book. So basically a fun story about a clumsy kid, a crazy uncle and a cluster of monsters. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[M1 Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of predictable, but wasn't a bad read aloud for my boys. The forgiving relationship between the uncle and nephew is nice.

[Jeffrey Schnorr · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is funny and about a kid that stays at his uncles when an experiment goes wrong they leave town and meet there creations. This book isn't really Christian cuz there s lots of zombies and undeaf