REX'D: Welcome to Scholomance

by J.B. Skelter, Jack Reher

MONDAYS. Oh, the horror. Going back to school after a nice weekend. Homework. Tests. Gym class. It's even worse for Rex Gerard, the "new kid" at Scholomance High. Making friends, navigating the rough halls, avoiding trouble...

But on this particular Monday, it's also Halloween. Rex's favorite holiday. It was his mom's too before she passed away. And today, Rex will learn exactly how she died and what his purpose is in this life as he unlocks the hair-raising mysteries and lurking monsters of Scholomance.

But is he... is ANYONE... ready?

Genres: Fantasy

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2014

About the author

J.B. Skelter is an author, high school teacher, and all-around good guy. He has written two other novels under an alternate identity, but his real name remains a closely guarded secret. Skelter lives in a ghost town somewhere in Colorado with his wife, two kids, and pet pig.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book to review from Curiosity Quills Press.

REX'D: Welcome to Scholomance was full of drama and excitement. This is one of those books that starts with a bang and doesn't let up. Once I had read the first two chapters I had jumped into a creepy, action-packed ride and there was no getting off. This book was an easy and compelling read that kept my attention throughout the whole book. I wasn't overly impressed with the world building or character development, but I think that it's well written for it's target audience. I enjoyed all of the references to horror movies and Dracula. It is the perfect Halloween story for middle school kids. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Great dark storyline and dynamic characters. Jack Reher and JB kill it with REX'D.

It's a must read.

[Casia Pickering · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I received this free ARC from Curiousity Quills Press for an honest review**


Talk about a quick read. It took me a little while, but that's due to family craziness (two year olds, I swear). However, this book is a quick read. It's fairly fast paced, but doesn't really get into the action until roughly halfway in. It is set all in one day though, which does help set the speed of the book. On top of that, the first chapter is an awesome opener. It really pulls you in.

REX'D: WELCOME TO SCHOLOMANCE is a teen/tween book written by the duo J.B. Skelter and Jack Reher. It is the origin story and beginning of a series centering on Rex Gerard, the new kid of Scholomance. The book is all about those delightful horror monsters that I love to delve into.

Now, for the older reader, you will notice right off the bat that some of the minor characters have names hearkening to well known horror stories. There is a Helsing and Poe, just to name a few. If you know the background of their obvious namesakes, you can probably figure out where they fall in the world of REX'D. Granted, none of those characters have become something even bigger just yet, but with their namesakes, I have a feeling there's more in store.

That said, the book is enjoyable. If you love horror movies, books, or even Goosebumps, you will like this book. It is definitely for the younger teen, but it does have a way to inspire the adult readers to. For instance, there is an interesting tidbit of family history explained and a bit of literary history that has me wondering. I have no idea if the authors used their creativity for the things I'm hinting at. It is because of that that I want to delve back into my copy of DRACULA and curl up to FRANKENSTEIN.

It is that: authors inspiring readers to read classics, that gets me excited about books. REX'D definitely did that for me and I have no doubt that future readers will want to do the same.

Since this is the first book in a series, you can bet that it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. I wonder what is in store for Rex Gerard.

Now, all I have to do is wait for my little one to go to bed... I'm feeling a horror movie marathon on the way. Love Halloween in July!

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series must be read in order. This is the first book.

Rex knows something is up. There is no freaking way his moms fatal "accident" was actually an accident! It looked like some huge monster ripped off the too of her car... But monsters aren't real... Are they? Everything is not what it seems in the small town of Scholomance and Rex knows it! People can tell him whatever they like but he won't believe it! Everything about the small town that his mom died just outside of is hinky to say the least. How did his mom really die? Who or what is responsible for her murder? And what exactly is wrong with this town and its inhabitants?

Fitting in at his new school isn't easy. He likes Harlow (the principal's daughter) and is shocked she even knows who he is... Much less wants to spend time with him! Macen is awesome and his new best friend. The only problem is Dawson (the short tempered bully) who won't leave him be just because he sees Harlow as his own personal property. What is the big deal anyways? They are only in middle school after all... It's not like anything is all that serious. Are monsters real? And if they are ... What do they want with Rex?

This was an awesome middle grade reader that made me want to read more! It had a very compelling voice and a convoluted plot that drew on lireature and movies for the basis of its monsters( making them somewhat familiar) even though they were presented in a very origional manner. This action, adventure, fantasy, horror mix both satisfied me and left me wanting more! I can't wait to read the next book when it comes out!

***This book is suitable for middle grade to adult readers

[Diane Lynch Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

REX'D: Welcome to Scholomance by J.B. Skelter & Jack Reher 3 ½ of 5 Stars
 
Rex Gerard and his father move to Scholomance after his mother died in a car accident. Rex is not convinced her passing was an accident. As he investigates the crash, he makes some interesting discoveries about the monsters living in Scholomance and his family’s past.
 
Rex is a noble hero. He has good instincts and follows them. I enjoyed that he is into classic horror books and movies. My heart went out to him for the unfortunate situations that happened to him.
 
Harlow becomes a really good friend to Rex. I like that she is not afraid to take risks, especially considering her mother is the school principal.
 
The plot was interesting and original. REX'D: Welcome to Scholomance had a really great ending and some interesting surprises. I could see my eleven-year-old son and his friends enjoying this book. It would also make a good movie.
 
Complimentary copy provided by Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Diane Lynch Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ½ of 5 Stars

Rex Gerard and his father move to Scholomance after his mother died in a car accident. Rex is not convinced her passing was an accident. As he investigates the crash, he makes some interesting discoveries about the monsters living in Scholomance and his family’s past.

Rex is a noble hero. He has good instincts and follows them. I enjoyed that he is into classic horror books and movies. My heart went out to him for the unfortunate situations that happened to him.

Harlow becomes a really good friend to Rex. I like that she is not afraid to take risks, especially considering her mother is the school principal.

The plot was interesting and original. REX'D: Welcome to Scholomance had a really great ending and some interesting surprises. I could see my eleven-year-old son and his friends enjoying this book. It would also make a good movie.

Complimentary copy provided by Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Raul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall thoughts
REX’D: Welcome to Scholomance is a fun, fast-paced, entertaining book for readers of many ages. While the novel contains elements and themes from the horror genre, it is not too scary nor violent, making it perfect for younger readers that are interested in horror. The novel is also very accessible due to the natural flow of the story and because of the simplicity of the language. Due to the novel being primarily for younger audiences, older readers might find the story quite simple and straightforward, but it is nonetheless an entertaining read. As a whole, I’d be inclined to rate the book with 3.5 out of 5 stars, which I’ll round down to 3. While I did like and enjoy the book, I was not amazed by it. However, it does make me want to read the rest of the entries in the series. Please read below for a more detailed explanation of my thoughts, which might contain some minor spoilers.

Plot, themes & characters
The plot of the book follows the story of Rex and his dad. They move to a new town after his mother’s death. This place happens to be the town in which she wanted to live in someday in the future. Throughout the story, we find out more information surrounding her death and soon learn that things might not be as they seem at first glance. This is particularly true once it is revealed that the town has some links to the paranormal. Rex, being a horror aficionado, is thrilled by his findings, which leads him to an adventure involving vampires, wolves, and various other monsters.

As one can imagine, some of the biggest themes and elements in the book revolve around the horrific and the macabre though, as mentioned earlier, these topics are addressed in a simple manner that makes it accessible and not too scary or traumatizing for younger readers. While there are certain monsters or supernatural entities that are outright mentioned, such as the werewolves and vampires, there are others that are simply hinted at or alluded to. Furthermore, there is also an exploration of the lore and history of the place, indicating that there is much to learn about the paranormal world in the universe of the novel. Naturally, Rex is intrigued by all of these things and eventually finds out how he’s connected to this paranormal world.

The second set of important themes are the ones revolving the social dynamics and the social life of Rex. Although there is a certain degree of exploration on these subjects, it is not very deep nor complex. Since Rex is new to the town, we are exposed to his feelings, thoughts, and difficulties with fitting in. We are also exposed to some type of bullying dynamics, and a sort of teenage rivalry among high schoolers. In the middle of this disagreement, we can find one of the main issues between the two boys: a girl, which shouldn’t be very surprising to older readers. Thanks to this girl, however, we also get to see the social skills of Rex when talking to girls. All in all, Rex seems to be a quite average teenage boy, which might make it easy for readers to identify with.

Two themes that are alluded to are the family dynamics and the relationship between kids and adults, though these themes are not as exposed or developed as the previous two. The majority of the family dynamics that we are exposed to as readers are between Rex and his father, and to some degree, we get to learn about how family functioned when the mom was still alive. We also get to see brief instances in which other teenagers interact with their respective parents, though this is quite minor. There are certain aspects indicating that their dynamics are different, which might explain some of their traits. Due to the context of the story, the kids interact with adults at various points of the story. It is interesting to see how some of the adults seem to be more interested in what the kids have to say while others dismiss them outright. This could be explained by the differences in their profession, however. This aspect is not very important in the book though.

Lastly, I would like to address the characters. There aren’t that many characters in the book, which shouldn’t be too surprising based on the length. For the most part, these characters are not very intricate or profound. In fact, the majority are unfortunately rather average and dull. There is very little character development, which is mostly done on the protagonist. Hopefully, there will be more development on this aspect in future entries of the series.

Use of language and narration
The novel is written in a third person perspective. It makes it quite easy to jump between different scenes seamlessly and effortlessly. While the language is easy to understand and easy to follow, it is also quite average. There aren’t phrases or sections that are incredibly well written nor particularly memorable. However, since the book is aimed mostly towards young readers, the fast pace and the accessible language are quite suitable.

Recommendations and suggestions for further reading
I’d recommend this book to anyone that is interested in reading a book with horror elements that isn’t too scary. I’d also recommend this book to those that like young adult or middle-grade literature, or to those that are only looking for a quick, easy and entertaining read. As for further recommendations, for those looking for something of similar difficulty and some horror elements, I’d suggest The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. However, for those interested in something fast-paced with a similar style and mood but in different genres, then I’d recommend Strings by G. Miki Hayden for sci-fi fans and The Code of Magic by David D. Hammons for fantasy fans. For those looking something similar but aimed towards older readers, then I’d recommend Malus Domestica by S.A. Hunt.

Thank you for reading my review. Happy reading!

[K.L. Berger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denne bog satte mig direkte tilbage til min lykkelige, lidt skræmmende Gåsehuds-dage. Bogen starter godt ud, direkte og lige på og hårdt, og så får den ellers ikke rigtig lov til at falde ned igen, før den er slut. Som voksen vil man måske ikke synes at den er det mest skræmmende i hele verden, men for det første er jeg uhyre (høhø) let at skræmme, og for det andet, så ér det en pre-teenage bog, og så skal den også anmeldes sådan. :)

Rex bor i den lille by Scholomance, hvor ikke alt er som det ser ud til. Alligevel vil ingen indrømme det over for ham, slet ikke når han snakker om at det må være et monster der var årsag til hans mors død. For monstre findes ikke. Vel? Men Rex har andre problemer at tænke på, for det er ikke nemt at passe ind på en ny skole. Heller ikke selvom Harlow, inspektørens datter, gerne vil snakke med ham og Macen bliver hans nye bedste ven. Selv med dem i ryggen har Rex problemer, for Dawson bryder sig bestemt ikke om ham, men hvad er problemet? Det er jo ikke fordi middle school er så seriøs igen. Og hvad med de monstre, findes de eller ej?

Jeg fandt mig selv fanget blandt siderne efter blot to kapitler, og så ville den ellers ikke give slip igen, hagede sig fast i mig, så jeg måtte læse historien færdig på én aften. Selve verdensopbygningen og karakterudviklingen er ikke gloværdig eller voldsomt kompliceret, men med et godt sprog så vil den fungere fantastisk for sin målgruppe. Desuden faldt jeg fuldstændig pladask for de mange referencer forfatterne har puttet ind til skrækfilm, Dracula m.fl. Det er muligt at disse måske bedre opfanges af de lidt ældre læsere, det er jeg usikker på, men det gjorde i hvert fald bogen ganske underholdende at læse, selvom man nu var lidt over målgruppen, rent aldersmæssigt. Desuden kunne jeg godt lide forfatterstilen og den rytme der var i actionen. Bogen er ikke kategoriseret som horror, men jeg vil stadig sætte den i samme bås som de gamle Gåsehud-fortællinger. Let skræmmende og spændende, men uden at give mareridt for livstid.

Bogen slutter ret åbent, og med lidt af en cliffhanger. Jeg har ikke kunne få bekræftet en serietitel nogle som helst steder, men jeg er dog ret sikker på at der vil komme flere bøger om Rex. Heldigvis, for så er der forhåbentlig også god læsning til næste Halloween.

[Georgene · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is a bit rough in this book, but the author has a good imagination. I enjoyed this book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to preview this book for my son. He is into all kinds of monsters and paranormal stuff lately, so I thought he might like it. And perhaps he will; I, however, didn't really care for it. The story jumps around a lot, starting out with the brief mention of a character who never appears again throughout the story, then moving on to a big action scene. I'm sure the authors conceived of it as a way to grab the reader's attention and pull them into the story, but it just doesn't work very well for me. After that scene, the story moves backward to some days before, and then is interspersed with remembrances of a tragic event months before that. The whole thing was rather confusing to me. I had a hard time figuring out who were the good guys and the bad guys in the story, and keeping track of who was on whose side and why. The plot just seemed overly complicated and convoluted. And what's worse, the back-story was just so incredibly boring. I just kept waiting for something, anything, to happen. But nothing much does, until the final pages of the book when the action kind of goes overboard. I also found the writing really rudimentary. I was surprised to learn that one of the author was a high school teacher; it seemed more like the writing of a high school student. I received a free copy of this book from Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find more reviews Mademoisellesnow Blog

This was a quick read even though it took me a while to get to it. I really enjoyed this one. This book reminded me of the old school horror like Dracula and Frankenstein. And I must say that I loved it. It was a fantastic collaboration between J.B. Skelter and Jack Reher. This book is the first in its series so it left me on a cliff-hanger and wanting more.