A Monster Like Me

Gr 4–6— Sophie's got a big secret that she's desperate to keep hidden: she's actually a monster. She knows this because of the blood tumor bulging on her face, and from the Big Book of Monsters that she's carried around since she found it in her kindergarten library. Sophie doesn't expect anything to change after a big move, but her new neighborhood in Portland, OR, offers a new friend named Autumn (who Sophie thinks is a fairy), Autumn's kindly grandmother (definitely a witch), and Kelsi, a mechanic with a scarred face who rescues Sophie and her mom when their car breaks down (almost certainly a shape-shifting demon). In fact, Sophie believes that nearly everyone she meets is some kind of monster or fairy, which raises the stakes of every interaction. Sophie is sure that if she and Autumn can find the right spell in Mrs. Barrett's spell book, she will be able to be a normal human girl—free of any facial disfigurements. Sophie is a compelling if difficult protagonist; she is constantly self-sabotaging, and it is hard not to be frustrated by many of her choices. Chapters are interspersed with pages from Sophie's favorite book describing different monsters; while this device is sure to appeal to avid creature enthusiasts, the monsters described do not always relate to the story. At one point, a Native character briefly appears to help explain the behavior of a crow; they do not play a larger role in the narrative. Notably, no other characters' origins are designated as non-white. Overall, the story is engaging and likely to appeal to middle grade readers.