Monster Club: Hunters for Hire

by Gavin Brown

There is only one thing seventh graders Tommy Wainwright, Colleen "Spike" Hernandez, and Karin Khalil want to do -- go on adventures and catch monsters! And in a world where monsters -- big and small -- roam, someone has to keep these creatures in check, right? Luckily, this is the iPhone era, and that means anyone can use the brand-new app, AppVenture ("It's like Uber for monster-slaying!"), to hire their very own adventurer to stop the beasts.

So when Tommy, Spike, and Karim find a way to become registered "Independent Adventure Contractors" for the new app, they couldn't be more thrilled. At first, being full-fledged adventurers is a blast. But when the trio embark on their second quest, they stumble upon a secret: It seems AppVenture has been releasing monsters into the wild in order to generate more business. Now the three friends find themselves on the run from a venture-backed startup that will do anything to make sure our heroes don't live to reveal the truth...

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Technology, Monsters

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2019

Reviews

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hunters for Hire (Monster Club #1) by Gavin Brown, 247 pages. Scholastic, 2019. $17.

Content G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Seventh graders Tommy, Spike, and Karim, live in a world where monsters big and small show up. Instead of animal control, besieged citizens can call professionals. When the three schoolmates discover that there is AppVenture, an app that allows people to hire monster professionals, they sign up. Soon they are busy capturing low-level monsters. They discover that there is something fishy about AppVenture that is both sinister and potentially even more deadly than the monsters they are facing.

Told in alternating chapters between the three characters, we get to see more of how each thinks and reacts. Tommy bulks up on protein drinks and provides the muscle, Spike is a fierce girl who isn’t easily intimidated, and Karim, is a little more timid, but finds references to all the monsters and their strengths and weaknesses in Mortimer’s Monsterpedia. If 7th graders can take on monsters, it’s a wonder more of them don’t seem to want to. The plot is predictable, but family dynamics add some depth.

Michelle in the Middle
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2020...

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kidlit Exchange partner - n this world, we have reached a point where the all pervasiveness of the “Uber-for-(Insert XYZ)” needs to be lampooned. And of course in a world where monsters run free like cockroaches or mosquitos, there will be an Uber for Monsterhunting – namely, in Gavin Brown’s Middle Grade fantasy MONSTER CLUB: HUNTERS FOR HIRE

In an attempt to pay for Adventurer (Monster hunter) camp, friend trio Tommy, Karim, and Spike (born Colleen) sign up as independent contractors on AppVenture, “the Uber for Monsterhunting”.

The three come across as somewhat archetypal at first, both in character and in the “wacky misfit friend group” trope of 80s/90s kidlit.

By about mid-way through, I got adjusted to the rotating narration between each main character, and storylines of Brotein drinks and wacky online businesses carries the trio. I loved the strong boys in ⅔ of the POV characters – Karim’s empathy and sensitivity, and Tommy’s self-awareness and bravery. As the mom of an eight-year-old boy, I worry that our sons are getting lost in the Girl Power conversations.

When Spike confirms the conspiracy theory that AppVenture is re-releasing captured monsters into the wild, and exposes it online, she draws the wrath of CEO Mike Tuckerville. He’s a stereotypical sociopathic, poorly-dressed narcissistic tech bro* who doesn’t like being outsmarted, and begins to sic the monsters on the kids.

Hilarity ensues (somehow with no magical creatures being killed).

With epigraphs from Mortimer’s Monsterpedia, young monster lovers/cryptid enthusiasts will enjoy learning about basilisks, gremlins, snipes, and the like.

While a book about killing monsters shouldn’t have “all the feels”, the sub-plots about family problems – Tommy’s family’s money problems, Spike’s conflicting feelings about her deadbeat dad, and Karim’s admiration of his dad (once a famous monster hunter, now in a wheelchair) are exceptionally well-done.

To note, Karim and Spike are presumably POC characters based on their full names, and Spike may be LBGTQ. Race/ethnicity don’t factor into the story at all though (a good thing in my book).

Give to fans of Last Kids on Earth, Pip Bartlett and Enginerds – just be aware illustrations are non-existent, when IMO they would have added a lot to the storyline.

MONSTER CLUB: HUNTERS FOR HIRE is out now from Scholastic.

[Kate Waggoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

@kidlitexchange #partner

Thank you to the #kidlitexchange network, the publisher @scholasticinc and the author #GavinBrown for the advance review copy of Monster Club: Hunters for Hire which will hit shelves July 30, 2019.

Monsters, big and small, roam the world which means that someone needs to keep them in check. This is where the adventurers come in. Now, there is even an app, AppVenture, where you can hire an adventurer to take care of your monster problem (it's like Uber for monster hunting). Seventh graders Spike, Tommy, and Karim all want to be monster hunters and they register as Independent Adventure Contractors with AppVenture. As they begin adventuring, they start to realize that something isn't quite right. This season more monsters than ever are popping up and they're showing up in areas they're not native to. Ultimately, the three stumble onto a dangerous conspiracy and must work together and overcome their own insecurities in order to bring down the conspiracy and save their own lives.

"It's like Uber for monster hunting!" How does that line not pull you in? This is a terrific middle grades adventure novel full of monsters, friendship, and complicated family relationships. The story is engaging, and I loved learning about the different types of monsters. The characters all have interesting relationships with their families. Spike's parents are divorced and she doesn't talk to Luis (she refuses to call him dad). Tommy's mom lost a big court case and now they don't have the money for him and his sister to go to Adventure Camp. Karim's father used to be a famous adventurer (he even had his own TV show) until he had a horrible accident that left him paralyzed. I really liked the way the author navigated these relationships and I think that readers will be able to connect to the characters more because of these complex character conflicts. This was a fun book and it kept me wanting to know what would happen next. I also enjoyed that it alternates between Tommy, Karim, and Spike's perspectives giving you a deeper understanding of their character motivations an the overall story.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Spike, and my friends and I want to become monster hunters. Tommy always wants to use his muscles, Karim can get his hands on magical weapons, and we've just captured a basilisk in our school. We've decided to sign-up with AppVenture, so we can get paid while catching monsters. We'll stick with level one and twos, maybe a level three if it comes to that, so we can learn and get better before tackling the more dangerous monsters. Things have been going pretty well with our team, but we just saw something disturbing on Mad MacKenzie's podcast. She caught a gremlin with the indentation of a ring on its head... an imprint of my ring! How did a gremlin we captured manage to get captured again by Mad MacKenzie? Something fishy is going on at AppVenture!

This book will probably appeal to upper elementary students. Monster hunting is common in the plot, and Karim's crippled dad has retired from the business. Spike and her friends are ordinary kids, but there's nothing extraordinary about them. They behave the way you'd expect amateurs to behave, including making amateur mistakes. Karim's terrified to let his dad know what he's doing, and Tommy looks forward to any chance to show off his muscles. The second half of the book is much better than the first, as the author develops larger conflicts. Obviously, the kids are destined to face more deadly monsters to put themselves in perilous situations. AppVenture has a secret conspiracy going on, and the kids are determined to stop it. A David and Goliath scenario is created. Spike's parents are divorced, so this adds an important twist to the plot. She's very angry with her father and then finds out he's working for AppVenture. Luis wants to get back in Spike's life, but she's not having any of it. This bitterness is a common emotion in cases of divorce. I was ready to dismiss this book as a cute story for young readers, but it slowly grew on me. Overall, I liked the plot and am curious about the sequel. Give it a shot if you enjoy monster hunting.

[Mx Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aliens are loose in the city and only the Monster Club can stop them!

Spike, Tommy, and Karim are seventh graders on a mission. They want to be adventurers! Tommy is the biggest of the group and therefore he believes he is the muscles. He eats and drinks supplements to make him bigger. Spike believes she is the brains. Karim is the quiet and serious one of the group. His father had been an adventurer until he was permanently injured. One day at school, their dreams begin to come true as a monster is on the loose in the school. The next day there is another monster next door. Suddenly they are applying to be contractors for AppVenture, a monster capturing company. What could go wrong?

Gavin Brown takes us on an adventure in Monster Club: Hunters for Hire (2019). Hunters is written for ages 8 through 12, but I had a lot of fun reading it and so will parents who read what their children are reading. Brown gives us monsters from Gremlins to Razorbacks to bigger monsters (I do not want to give everything away). There are also personal issues that the kids deal with in the book as Spike has issues with her father and Karim with his. They are the same issue, but represented in different situations. Brown is realistic in his writing in that he does not wrap up the real life problems with a bow as real life is not like that, but he does give an ending that is satisfying. The mystery of the monsters is fun and exciting, and the solution logical in today’s world. Hunters gives us friendship, adventure, and fun. You cannot ask for more than that in a book.

Douglas Holgate is the illustrator for Monsters Club: Hunters for Hire.

I received this book for free in a Goodreads Giveaway and give my opinion without prejudice and freely.

[Katherine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute.

My first thoughts of the book were that it was probably the most ADD book to have ever ADDed. The random descriptions of objects and the constant interrupting of slogans for Brotien items, along with the constant shift in narrator were hugely distracting for me.

But, it got better as I got used to those things. I began to see them more as quirks than distractions. I can definitely see how the target audience would simply be amused and not annoyed by these quirks.

My only true problem with this book is that it steals a major plot event from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Three kids (two male and one female) have to face a dragon in a deep, dark cave. They wind up saving the dragon and then fly out of the inescapable dungeon on the dragon's back. The dragon flies off home. Sounds very familiar... I know there's nothing new under the sun, but come on... The elevator with the sour ooze was at least original.

Overall, much better than I expected it to be. I wouldn't have chosen to read this book on my own, but since one of my seventh graders read it for his book project and it didn't have an AR test, I had to read it to make a test. It was definitely a great fit for him. I would recommend this for your reluctant readers, male or female, who like video games, twitch streams, or adventure stories.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no doubt that the world is filled with monsters, some of whom come in human form. But in this book the monsters are loose in the world, and someone needs to protect average citizens from them. Seventh graders Tommy Wainwright, Colleen (Spike) Hernandez, and Karim Khalil are friends, and they decide to put their monster-hunting skills to the test by hiring out as Independent Adventure Contractors through a new app. They quickly learn that they've bitten off more than they can chew, and that there's something fishy about the increasing number of monsters on the lam. It's a toss-up as to whether they have more to fear from the monsters or their employers. The story is told from alternating points of view of the three friends, each of whom has personal demons to fight as well as those they encounter. Karim and Spike have issues with their respective fathers for very different reasons, while Tommy is constantly trying to bulk up through the use of Brotein shakes and bars as the company's slogans play in his head. There are even sections giving information about each monster to add to the fun of reading this book. While some of the characters' problems are typical for seventh graders, others are a little more complex. But I'm betting this book will garner enough interest that there will be a follow-up. After all, there are still plenty of monsters out there that need to be caught.

[Tooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book— all opinions are my own-
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Monster Club: Hunters for Hire by Gavin Brown is a thrilling, action packed book! In a world where monsters are the norm, an app like AppVenture is a hit! Through this app, monster hunters can be hired by people who need help removing monster from their backyard.
When Tommy is in need of money to go to Adventure Camp, his best friends Spike and Karim join him in registering as Independent Adventure Contractors and begin capturing monsters and getting cash. As the trio works together to be the best monster hunters, they began to realize there is a conspiracy going on that could threaten their very lives.
This book is fun, unique, and creates a world with fantastical fun monsters. The three characters have strengths and weaknesses that they must work through in the book, but they find their friendship is strong and they can battle anything together. I really enjoyed Spike who comes out as the leader of the group. She finds that she can’t do everything on her own, and that is okay! This book is great for anyone who loves fantasy and new worlds! I recommend it for 3rd grade and up! #gavinbrown @scholasticinc

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic tale about friends coming together and solving problems within their community. Local monsters running amuck they had to put their various strengths together and work together. I immediately fell in love with what I read.

This would be a perfect book for fans of Fablehaven or Artemis fowl I think. Any kids who love trying to catch animals like frogs or bugs would also probably throughly enjoy this wonderful book.

A note that I did DNF it, but not because it was bad quality, purely because I didn’t like the trope it was switching into. I read halfway and decided to set it down, still rating it a solid 4 because I loved what it offered. Thank you for reading my review.

[Calinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for kids. The storylines are adventurous and the characters are entertaining, strong, and able to be related to.

[Diana Gagliardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay modern urban fantasy! With nefarious Capitalist getting their comeuppance! Ahha!!

Enjoy!

[Ireland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book could have more characters there are only really 4 main characters