Two human children, who have suffered greatly after the deaths of both of their parents, arrive at the doorstep of Rookhaven House which is a huge mansion some distance from the nearest town called Rookhaven. Until now the house and its monstrous inhabitants have been protected by and separated from the nearby village by the Glamour but somehow it has opened. This is how the children get in after their car runs out of petrol but of course if things can come in it also means things can go out. One of the creatures in this house is named Piggie. He lives in a locked basement, and he is fed raw meat through a low flap in the door. One of the human children, a boy named Tom, is curious and somehow the door to Piggie's room is opened. Piggie escapes and viciously attacks a cow belonging to a local farmer because Piggie craves fresh meat. The scene is utterly dreadful but what this also means is that the Covenant between the village of Rookhaven and the monsters has been broken.
Meanwhile a truly evil figure arrives in Rookhaven. He latches onto the family of the local butcher. The butcher, Mr Fletcher, and his son Freddie are two of the people from the village who do visit the monster's house using a special key to open the Glamour. The key is held in trust by the local doctor, Dr Ellenby. Each week, Freddie and his father deliver huge boxes of raw meat for the inhabitants.
Freddie knows this 'man' is dangerous but his father, who is wracked with grief over the death of his older son on a World War II battlefield, is completely entranced by this smooth-talking fellow who names himself Arnold Pheeps. After Freddie confronts Pheeps he learns the truth. Pheeps is also a monster but he is far more dangerous. He feeds on souls, and he plans to do this at Rookhaven House. He has come because - think about actions and consequences - when Piggie escaped his scent was spread and now this man aptly named The Malice is ready to attack. He is able to incite the village people into a frenzy of anger and they all march up to attack the monsters. This is a battle scene that is sure to linger with you long after reading this book. Oh, and I do need to mention the enormous carnivorous plants that guard the path leading up to the house. In an opening scene we meet Mirabelle, and she is feeding the plants huge bones with flesh still attached. Mirabelle herself is only partly a monster. She does not need to eat and she cannot transform herself into other forms, but she has amazing powers which we discover over the course of the story including her control over these horrid flowers.
"Mirabelle was in the garden feeding bones to the flowers ... The flowers swayed above her, sniffing the night air. She could hear the creaking of their tree-trunk-thick stalks and the soft wet sibilance of their petals smacking together as they fed. Though they were nursery plants, each one of them was already over six feet tall, their heads moving blindly in the starry night."
You could use this text extract in a book talk with your (not squeamish) students pointing out the key words - feeding bones, sniffing, sibilance, blindly.
Bookseller blurb: Sometimes the monsters take us. Sometimes we become the monsters. Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren't necessarily the ones you can see.
Take a look at the Kirkus review. You can read more plot details by clicking these review quotes:
Three things made this book special: the characters, the post-war setting, and the illustrations. Its cast is a real kaleidoscope of personalities. From the monsters to the humanism, each is significant to the story in a way where there’s an equality at play. The shifting perspectives help this. Just Imagine
As with the best monster stories too, the world he creates and its bizarre inhabitants are so well described that Rookhaven feels like a place we might already know or come across. It’s a work of astounding imagination, written with a confidence and flair that is definitely out of the ordinary and genuinely thrilling too. Congratulations to illustrator Edward Bettison whose black and white drawings properly reflect and even add to the drama of the story. Books for Keeps
If the first half of the book was intriguing, the second half was absolutely gripping ... Libraries 4 Schools
If you assign genre labels to fiction then this book is most resoundingly a horror story. There were parts where I just had to stop reading and take a break. Horror is not a genre that I seek out. I picked this book because I enjoyed a previous book by Padraig Kenny:
Tin did have some horror moments and then I read Stitch - and I now realise both of these books should have prepared me for the violence and bloodthirsty scenes in The Monsters of Rookhaven.
Some time ago someone asked for character descriptions - here are a few from The Monsters of Rookhaven.
"Mr Teasdale, the local postmaster, stepped out of one car. He was a short, nervous-looking man dressed in tweed with a high pink colour to his face and round spectacles."
"Reverend Dankworth, a long tall wisp of a man, climbed out of the passenger seat with the slow long-legged grace of a spider emerging from a crack in a skirting board."
"Odd was the same height as her, and like her he looked no more than twelve years old, but he was of course far, far older. He was wearing a bulky seal-skin coat that stretch right down to his ankles, heavy mittens, a cap and goggles."
"Uncle Bertram was very tall and fat. He wore yellow-pinstriped trousers, a red cravat, a mustard-coloured shirt, a purple smoking jacket and a green waistcoat. His large bearded face twitched with excitement."
I now discover there is a sequel to The Monsters of Rookhaven. I am not sure I have the courage right now to re-enter this world but I have added this title to my massive 'to read' list. I think the two book covers are fabulous as are the internal illustrations by Edward Bettison. You can see inside the book here. Readers with courage aged 11+ are sure to enjoy The Monsters of Rookhaven - it might hook in a reluctant but capable (boy) reader who enjoys gruesome scenes and stories filled with edge of your seat tension.
Companion books:
