The Supernatural Society

The Supernatural Society #1

by Rex Ogle

"Monsters have never been so much fun." –Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author of the Spy School series

"Frightening and fun!" –Neil Patrick Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Magic Misfits

Readers will be scared silly in this spooky and hilarious middle grade series starter about a town chock-full of monsters and the kids who must unravel centuries of secrets to save it.

Will Hunter thought his life couldn’t get any worse: His parents just got divorced, His best (and only) friend now is his dog, Fitz, And his mom moved them from New York City to the middle-of-nowhere town called East Emerson.
But Will was wrong—things are about to get way worse. Because East Emerson is filled with a whole lot of monsters, and he’s the only person who can see them.

When all the town pets (including Fitz) go missing, Will suspects there’s something sinister going on. So he joins forces with outcast Ivy and super-smart Linus to uncover the ancient secrets of East Emerson. Besides, nothing bad could happen when three sixth graders team up against monsters, magic, myths, and mad science . . . right?

Read all the books in The Supernatural Society series!
The Supernatural Society
Curse of the Werewolves

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Witches

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2022

About the author

Holy moly! I am so humbled and honored for y'all to read my books. Big hugs to all of ya.

Also, check out graphic novels under my pen name REY TERCIERO.

Bio:
REX OGLE is an award-winning author and the writer of nearly a hundred children’s books, comics, graphic novels, and memoirs—most notably Free Lunch, which won the ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction.

Born and raised (mostly) in Texas, he moved to New York City after college to intern at Marvel Comics before moving over to DC Comics, Scholastic, and Little Brown Young Readers. As an editor, he championed over a dozen NY Times Bestsellers and worked on (and often wrote) major brands such as X-Men, Justice League, Star Wars, LEGO, Power Rangers, Transformers, Minecraft, Assassin’s Creed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Neil Patrick Harris’s Magic Misfits.

Rex has written under a lot of pen names, including Trey King, Honest Lee, and Rey Terciero (a nickname given by his Abuela, being Español for “third king”, which is apt since Rex is Latin for “king”, and he is the third “Rex” in his family).

Now, Rex lives in Los Angeles where he writes in his spare time—that is, when he’s not outdoors hiking with his dog Toby, playing MarioKart with friends, or reading.

Reviews

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle was a fun, fantastical, middle grade read packed with lots of diversity.

Middle grade books always tend to be the highlight of my reads. They are so fun and bring me back to my elementary school reading days. Sure, I'm an adult now, but who doesn't love a whimsical adventure with friends? After all this time, I still love sneaking away to a middle grade book. The nostalgia is real.

The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle popped into my lap and I couldn't help but be excited and giddy. I love fantasy reads in the middle grade world - they explore world building, friendship, magic, science, and all things cool! This book was all of that and more! There's diverse sets of monsters (and cultures!) in this book that can make everyone feel at home. There's some mystery and empathy in this book too, as we truly feel for Will since his life has been turned upside down during a divorce. We all had something like that as a kid - some thing that we struggled with, whether it be losing friends, divorce, difficulty at school, etc. We've all been Will in some way.

So, you might have picked up on some of the story so far in this review. Will moves away with his Mom and his best friend/dog Fitz after his Dad gets up and leaves his family. They move to East Emerson, which seems weird and uninviting at first... but proves to be even worse than we imagined because it's full of monsters! But only Will can see them... His Mom thinks he's crazy! The teachers, the crossing guard... There's monsters galore! Eventually he meets some friends at school, adopted siblings Linus and Ivy. Linus is a smart guy who really only wants to focus on his studies, and his sister Ivy is a bit of an outcast, but she does see the monsters too! When Fitz goes missing, along with many other animals in the town, Will, Linus and Ivy team up to try to solve the mystery of the missing pets.

Oh, did I mention there's witches, vampires, a mystical fox, a curse, and more magic and science packed tight in this book? It's all so engaging and fun! This book will keep you on your toes and hooked around every corner.

I did love the diversity packed into this book. It feels like home. It's not just one culture or one person, it has almost everyone you can imagine. Throw in the sarcastic and fun narrator, and you've got one excellent read.

It's reminiscent of reading a book that mashed Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events together. We've got a set of three friends, sarcasm galore, and lots of fun, fantasy hijinks. It's not a carbon copy of these by any means, but it reminds me of those books from my youth. I will say this book is a family friendly story that does not go deep into the dark realms at all. I can see anyone ages six and up taking a stab at this book (depending on your reading level, of course).

My only negative for this book is how it ends. The Supernatural Society sets up a large series (that will hopefully be coming soon!). I like books that can stand alone without having to fear that you need to read the next book as soon as possible to continue the story. While I do think that I would pick up the next books in a heartbeat, I really didn't want to be left on a cliffhanger of "find out what hijinks from our friends are next..." in case the next book never comes. So, here's hoping I can get my hands on the next copy to continue seeing our new, fantastical friends.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Jenny Ashby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too aware of itself for me to fall into the story. The writing is very reminiscent of Lemony Snickett which I also find tedious. I'm disappointed I didn't like it more since I do like his other books and have seen him speak a couple of times which I enjoyed. This is just trying too hard.

[Jonathan (Jon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠-𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩.

I don't read many middle-grade books, but this one was super fun and perfect for the spooky season. If you’re looking for a quick and light spooky read then I would highly recommend this one. Also, the characters were super likable and I love the diversity the author provided. I felt so attached to these middle graders and was so interested. It’s one of those books you read just because they're fun and silly - in a good way. There were also some funny scenes. I just really enjoyed this fun middle-grade book. I'm glad I read it and took a break from the heavy thriller/horror books. I can’t wait to continue this series.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy - all thoughts are my own!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book, and the plot was interesting. But I'm not sure what age in the middle grade spectrum I would recommend this too. Both the narrator and Will's whiny attitude for the first part of the book felt aimed at a younger reader. But the ciphers felt aimed at an older reader, as did a scene where there was a pretty dramatic death.

I've seen several other reviewers compare the "dear reader" narrator who pops in and comments at times to the one in Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books. I understand the comparison to a degree. However, and perhaps this is just because it's been so long since I've read Lemony Snicket, I found this narrator to be much more annoying. The narrative asides here felt a little long and a bit too wrapped up in Adam Monster's own story. And this sort of made it feel like the narrator was talking down to the reader.

Also, as an adult reader (I don't think children would read it this way), I spent a good portion of the beginning of this book furious at Will's dad. It's clear that Will loves his dad a lot and really misses him since his parents' divorce. But his dad seems to have decided to cut his son out of his life completely. He doesn't reach out to Will, he doesn't answer Will's calls, he doesn't make any effort at all in regards to his relationship with his son. As Will was freaking out about all the monsters in his new town, I was thinking that most of those monsters seemed pretty chill, and it seemed like Will's dad was the real monster. (Side note: there is a moment later in the book that makes me wonder if Will's dad might actually be an ACTUAL monster. That would be quite an interesting development to explore in a later book.)

[Jennybeast]

I'm big fan of Ogle's other work, but I don't like this one. It's well written, as a highly stylized type of children's fiction, but I really disliked Lemony Snicket, too, and that's what it reminds me of. Just not my cup of tea.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Właściwie przypadkiem sięgnęłam po tę książkę i naprawdę mnie wciągnęła. Krótka i lepiej napisana od części książek przeznaczonych dla YA, więc warto ją polecać młodszym czytelnikom.

[Vera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Supernatural Society!

I thought the premise of this book was fun - a town populated by various kinds of monsters that only a few select people can see. I'm also generally into the overall story arc of "lonely kid moves to new town and finds friends/family/adventures." However, I found the execution a bit lacking here, and I never felt completely immersed in the story. I enjoyed getting to know the main character, Will, as well as his friends Ivy and Linus, but I didn't think there was anything special enough to set any of the characters apart from similar characters in other, similar books. I also really disliked the narrative asides from the perspective of Adam Monster, and I felt like they continually took me out of the story in a jarring way. I don't mind that kind of thing in general, but I felt like it really didn't work here, and I would have preferred the author to just stick with the main plotlines. While this was a fun book in some ways, it was just lacking some of the elements that would have made it truly great.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the review copy of The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle. I was looking for this book to fill the Scooby-doo craving in my heart, and it didn't disappoint. The story follows Will, who moves to East Emerson from New York City. He soon realizes that the monsters he sees walking down the street are not only NOT Halloween costumes, but he is one of the few people that can actually see the monsters for what they are.

When the town pets begin to go missing, Will teams up with his reluctant neighbors, Ivy and Linus, to take on monsters and mayhem. The story is a bit far-fetched, but also really fun. I would recommend this to someone who wants to dip their toes in thriller but isn't ready for a lot of scares or gore.

[Tara Ethridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for this book because I always had to read the next chapter! Our 5th graders have tasked me with finding new books for our scary section, and this is PERFECT! Just the right amount of gruesome for elementary and a quality story as well. Will moves to a new town and realizes right away that everyone he sees is a monster of some sort: the librarian, cafeteria workers, everyone! But, no one else other than one girl can also see the monsters and the rest of the town sees regular people. When Will's dog goes missing and the whole town seems to have lost their pets, a group of kids get together to save the town. So many gems in this book: diverse characters, transracial adoption, higher level vocabulary thrown in (with definitions) and the random dropping of the word heteronormative in an elementary book. Also, the story is narrated by a monster which is very witty. Cannot wait to share this with readers.

[Ms. Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the different creatures and monsters throughout the book. I love that only Will and Ivy were the only two who can see the monsters and they have to live knowing that no one else can and navigate every day life doing so. Linus was by far my favorite character though, always pulling in science and logic in something with such supernatural entities.

I did remind me a bit of Lemony Snicket and that turned me off to it, but I still enjoyed all of the supernatural aspects to it in a middle grade novel. I may need to reread this one as it might come across different than the audio version.

Thank you to Libro.fm for a copy of this book.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was fun to read and i will definitely read the second one. i liked the characters and actually did not guess what the twist would be. it was really self aware writing (think lemony snicket or pseudonymous bosch) which i liked as a kid so i thought it was fun. i think it bothered me less because i listened to the book so you could actually hear someone telling you the story and talk about how they were telling you the story. if i was reading the book with my eyes it may have been a bit much.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and adventurous, but seems a bit too young for most middle graders.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book!

[edward_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐️

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alisha Carderella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will is new in town. Life has not been going the way he wants it to but coming to East Emerson is suppose to be a new start for him and his family. Yet East Emerson is far from normal. In fact Will has noticed a very large population of creatures and beings that normally only exist inside his video games and graphic novels. When he voices concern he realizes that only himself and one other individual in town can see what is really going on. When pets start to disappear around town and Will is given a cryptic prophecy from a glowing fox he gets swept up in the adventure of a lifetime. Can Will and his new found friends save the animals before it is to late?

The Supernatural Society is a interesting set up for a book. It has aspects one finds in books such as the Series of Unfortunate events with the doom speaking narrator, and the quirky mystical aspects you find in the Magical Misfits series. Kids who love the supernatural are really going to enjoy this series. I am so grateful that the author put in ways to decode the messages within the story. Some of them I could figure out on my own but others it was very helpful to have the key for.

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

[Sara Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

** “The fates have led you straight to here, to stop the End and conquer fear. You must gather the force of Three, to save this town, then you’ll see.” **

Rex Ogle delivers a fun story that will appeal to kids of all ages in “The Supernatural Society,” a story that deals with braveness, loyalty, and spooks and goblins.

When Will Hunter begrudgingly moves to a new town, he discovers something unusual — he can see all the supernatural beings that also live within the town. And when all the town’s pets start disappearing, he joins forces with his neighbors, siblings Ivy (who can also see the supernatural beings) and Linus (who cannot).

Surrounded by “monsters, myths, magic, and mad science,” the middle school trio go on an epic adventure to rescue the pets and save the town from evil doings.

Ogle develops great, relatable and intriguing characters, including an adorable dog named Fitz. “The Supernatural Society” is a fun read filled with secrets messages for the reader to decode, mystery, and some good lessons, like: dealing with fresh starts; trying to fit in; curiosity can lead you on adventures; you can’t run from the truth; the importance of teamwork; and be open to new beginnings.

A big theme to take away from this book is quite simple yet important: Be kind.

I’m looking forward to Book 2 to see how Will’s, Ivy’s and Linus’s adventure continues while they work toward saving the town.

Fans of Lemony Snicket, Jason Segel’s “Nightmares” series, Neil Gaiman and Chris Colfer will love “The Supernatural Society,” which is due out Feb. 1.

Five stars out of five.

Inkyard Press provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

[Sarah (Wondermajica) · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Disclaimer: I won an ARC of this book from Goodreads Giveaways.

The Supernatural Society is a middle-grade novel written by Rex Ogle. It was released on February 1st, 2022.

I had high hopes for this book. It has everything I love to see in a middle-grade book. However, I was ultimately left a bit disappointed. Many books take inspiration from others, and I see nothing wrong with that. The problem, however, is the author’s ability to use that inspiration in a way that is not jolting or so obvious that it feels like low-key coping. Taking the inspiration and then building off it to create something unique takes work. Otherwise, it just leaves the reader feeling like they are reading fanfiction or a rip-off.

This is the main problem I have with this book. There are far too many obvious references to Harry Potter, and the attempt at a Lemony Snicket-style narration left me annoyed before even reaching page 50. I would read and get into what was going on…only to have a paragraph of random narration that felt unneeded. It left me feeling like reading the book was a chore as it felt tedious to get through.

I was also disappointed in the lack of character growth. I get that this is meant to be an introduction to what is meant to be a series, but it felt like the characters you meet at the beginning are exactly the same at the end. It was also a bit faster-paced than what I would prefer, but not too bad.

There is good in this book though. I really appreciated the amount of diversity and the writing (outside of the Snicket-style monologues) is quite good. I have a ton of quotes I plan on adding to Goodreads that are just fantastic. The inclusion of multiple codes for the reader to solve was also really interesting, and I’m sure young readers will find them fun and engaging. I like the idea of the story, and I hope that it is improved upon in the next book.

Overall, I think it just felt a little…too basic.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rex Ogle (fabulous Free Lunch older MG/younger YA read) brings horror, monsters, action/adventure with a little bit of humor and heart to readers in grades 5-7 (and maybe a little bit on either end of that range). Will’s life has been upended by divorce and he and his mom arrive in a new town that seems to be full of folks who take their Halloween very seriously. Turns out, only Will and classmate Ivy can see that many of the townspeople are actually creatures straight out of horror novels and comics. On top of that creepiness, pets are disappearing in droves and a late night visit to a cemetery reveals an evil witch and a brilliant fox. Siblings by adoption, Ivy and Linus, join Will in a battle to save the animals and maybe even the whole town in a winding adventure filled with vampires, codes, a town-wide curse and developing friendships. Terrific opening installment in a fantastical series that is free of profanity and sexual content. While there is evil, there are no flesh on flesh attacks nor any blood or gore. Highly recommended for libraries of those in grades 5 and up with readership in the fantasy genre.

Thank you for the print arc, Inkyard Press/Harper Collins!

[Cande]

This book sounded delightful; middle-grade paranormal. A new kid in town realizes his neighbors are monsters but no one can see them! When his pet goes missing, he has to team up with two siblings to rescue him. And also save the town’s pets. It was such a weird book. Like I adore the concept, but the execution was lacking. World-building was barely explored, the plot was convoluted, and the story ended with little sense. I guess, it’s a fine story, but I was hoping for a little bit of horrifying excitement. Instead, I was just frustrated by how the plot kept contradicting itself, adults were the worst and the bad guy was??? Whatever.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a real misfire. Every time the story would get remotely interesting, the narrator would break the fourth wall to directly address the reader and it would absolutely kill any momentum or tension. It made this book tedious to read, and snuffed my ability to connect with a single one of the characters.

There would be long sections where the author would list creatures alliteratively, each with the beginning letter h, for example. And honestly, it took me right out of the story. It was so clearly trying to be clever, but it really sapped the tension and created too many plausibility issues for me. A 12-year-old kid knows fifteen monster names, all beginning with the letter h, many of them really obscure? How is that possible? Why? And once my reader brain is out of the story, pondering stuff like this, I'm just not engaged with it anymore.

I also gotta say that when a writer has three main characters in a book and one is bi-racial Latinx, the second is Asian and the third is African-American, but they all have tissue-paper-thin character development... well, it just feels really gross. Like the writer wanted to create a diverse story, but then couldn't be bothered to put any effort into really fleshing out those characters' personalities and life experiences. What's it like for two kids, a Korean girl and an African-American boy to grow up with white parents? No idea. That's the set-up, but the reader never really gets to see any of that complexity beyond the Asian daughter feeling grateful (blech!) to her parents.

Also, the copy editing was not great. Lots of words just missing from sentences. It was really surprising to see this many mistakes in a traditionally published book.

[Nick Hendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Supernatural Society by Rex Ogle was a cute read, but kind of was a miss for me. I enjoyed it, the characters were diverse and okay on their development, and I loved all the supernatural spookiness of the town. The story follows Will, whose parents get a divorce after his dad leaves them, and Will and his mom move from New York City to ths middle if nowhere to a town called East Emerson with their St. Bernard, Fitz. There he meets the kids across the street, Ivy and Linus. Will definitely isn't happy about the divorce, or the move, and has a hard time adjusting. He definitely doesn't like the fact there are monsters of all sorts roaming the town and what's even stranger is nobody else sees them. When his dog, Fitz, comes up missing he sets out to find him and uncovers a hidden plan by some not so nice people in town, and it's up to the trio of friends to solve it.

As I said before I rated the book 3 stars because it was an okay read for me, but kind of fell flat for me. I think some of it has to do with the mystery narrator, but there are two other books in the series so maybe the narrator is introduced in those. I think the family dynamics was good though as many kids sadly come from broken homes, so the book gives kids characters they can relate to while bringing them positive message as well. The book also had some cryptograms in it you could try to solve, but a part way through the book I grew tired of doing them, but this is something I know kids will enjoy doing themselves.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book. It started out a little slow and I was having trouble getting into it. I think part of that was it is the first in a series and it was taking time to build the world and characters. There were some codes and ciphers to work out scattered through the text. These became a little irritating to me because they interrupted the flow of the story and I only found out that there was a way to solve them on a website from the audiobook that I was listening to while reading along with a physical copy of the book. I ended up skipping over the code stuff. If it wasn't explained in the narration, I figured I could get by without it. And it is possible to do so. I just think it would have been nice to know what the signs said, for instance. I think if that element was handled in a different way, I might have given a little bit higher rating. The main story was good, even if the main character was whining a lot at the beginning about how he didn't want to move and how no one believed him when he would say what he was seeing in the town. Tone down the whining, and it would have been better for me. Anyway, it is a decent read and I will be passing my copy on to a lady I work with so she can share it with her grandkids who are the intended age group for the book. I found my copy at the Dollar Tree, so I will keep an eye out to see if others from the series may find their way to the Dollar Tree shelves.

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content Warning: Divorce, Parental Abandonment, Missing Pets, Mild Violence

When Will Hunter and his mom move to a new town for a fresh start, Will finds a lot more than he thought possible. The entire town of East Emerson is full of monsters, and for some reason, his mom can't see them. In fact, most people can't see them and when a glowing silver fox pulls him out of his bed for a midnight trip to cemetery to get a good look at a coven of witches, Will thinks he might actually be going crazy.

Then, someone else admits that she can see them, too, and before long, the two of them are pulled into a Monster, Myth, Magic and Mad Science Mystery Club! ... Kind of. Can they figure out what's going on before the entirety of East Emerson disappears? Or is the town doomed to its very own end of the world.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was slightly reminiscent of A Series of Unfortunate Events because of the reluctant narrator, and I fell for that nostalgic vibe right away. I definitely recommend to kids who might love a good, supernatural mystery. And, it seems like it's going to be the first book in a series? My guess is thirteen books, but who actually knows? (The author probably). I'm not sure if I'm in it for the long haul, being an adult, but the idea of this series definitely excites me.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Supernatural Society is the first of a new series by Rex Ogle. It is an irreverent fantasy that is a bit uneven, but it has great heart. The story is narrated by a monster, which is one of the things that doesn't quite work for me. But the story eventually hooked me.

Will and his mom just moved to East Emerson for a fresh start, after Will's dad left them. As they drive through town, Will notices that the town is inhabited by all kinds of monsters that no one else seems to see. He becomes friends with siblings Linus and Ivy, who are about as opposite as siblings can be. Linus is all about logic, facts and academics, while Ivy is all about sports, taking naps in class, and learning about monsters, whom she can also see, thanks to a ring she wears.

The first night in town, Will dreams about a witch trying to resurrect an evil being, and a glowing silver fox who tells him "Find the animals, destroy the crown. Save the animals, and save the town." When animals start disappearing around town, including Will's dog Fitz, he realizes it wasn't just a dream, and it is his duty to do something to save the animals and the town.

I enjoyed this story, and look forward to reading the next in the series! Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

12yo Will has just moved to a new town. He's not excited to be there, he and his mom are making a fresh start after his parents got a divorce. On his first day of school, Will notices that people in the town look like monsters, and it seems he is the only one who can see them. But, when there's a rash of missing pets in the town, including Will's own dog, Fritz. Will thinks there may be a connection between the pets and the monsters, so he teams up with Ivy (who can see the monsters, too) and her genius brother Linus to see if they can figure out what's going on.

While Rex Ogle wrote The Supernatural Society, his narrator is a monster who claims to be the "actual" writer. The monster talks to the reader a lot - it doesn't really add anything to the story. Ogle knows the names of lots of different monsters, and often lists them in an alliterative way - I feel like this raises the vocabulary expectations of the reader. The Supernatural Society is clever, but the lists were too much, and I got really tired of the monster who wrote the book telling me what I’m thinking. I will pass on this purchase. Will is Latinx, Ivy is Korean. her brother Linus is black.

Cross Posted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You see, Honest Reader, sometimes when a person is faced with a difficult truth, it's easier just to ignore it. But the truth is like the sun, one cannot hide from it for long.”

This is an intriguing and mysterious introduction to a new series by Rex Ogle. Following Will, who has just moved to a new town after his mother's divorce, The Supernatural Society balances the difficulties of making friends, keeping old ones, and discovering a world of ciphers and magic. When all the town's pets seem to go missing, Will decides he must take action--after all, his pet dog is the only being left linking him to his old life. Through countless endeavors all the while making friends with Ivy, an outcast, and her brother Linus, the school's resident nerd, he discovers that sometimes even though adults might try their hardest...it's not always enough.

Told through the perspective of some sort of ancient(?) being with a forlorn and snarky attitude, this definitely works as a novel to discuss perspective, point of view, and mood.

Overall, this was a fun romp that definitely hooked me in. I'll definitely be reading the second one, though I'm hoping that the series will mature with its reader base.

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book of diverse characters which includes lots of monsters, mythological creatures, magic, mad science, and creepy crawly things from cultures all over the world and maybe even from outer space.

East Emerson is a surprise. It’s filled with scary monsters from mythology, some from horror stories and movies, like zombies, and a plot to ruin the town.

The young teen characters, Will, Linus, and Ivy must solve the clues in the secret codes and ciphers scattered throughout the book to figure out where the monsters are and how to save the pets of the town.

Author Rex Ogle jumps into this tale as Adam Monster who continuously warns the reader to stop reading, to turn away, and so much more. Adam Monster’s rambling interjections break the tension on this tale.

“The Supernatural Society”, the first in a new series of adventure / horror stories for middle graders guaranteed to capture your imagination, keep you up at night reading by flashlight, and make you see monsters in the most mundane pets and adults. Read this with your friends. Don’t forget to laugh a little when the book scares you!

[Jesse Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I blew through this book in a day, so there was something about it that I liked. I thought it was a fun story and could be the set up of a good kids' series. I thought all of the characters were relatable (I found Linus to be hilarious) and I liked all of the different monsters that were mentioned (from all different cultures and backgrounds). However, I REALLY HATED the narrator that would insert himself into the story with stupid asides. The story has a narrator very similar to the Lemony Snicket books who would constantly talk about how scary or how awful something is, but he would do it right in the middle of a scene so it took me completely out of the story. That was easily the worst part of the book. If the narrator was taken out completely this book would've gotten more stars. I also docked the book .5 stars because the set up makes it sound like the story revolves around codes, cryptograms, and solving puzzles but that really wasn't much of the story until the very end. I was expecting a lot more codebreaking to happen all throughout. Overall, I did enjoy the book and will likely pick up the next in the series. It was a fun 6th grade read.