Monster Club (Monster Club, 1)

From the award-winning screenwriter-director Darren Aronofsky and his screenwriting partner, Ari Handel, comes Monster Club. Their debut novel is the first book in a thrilling, new adventure series about growing up, letting go, and facing down your monsters.

Like almost everything in eleven-year-old Eric “Doodles” King’s life, King’s Wonderland—the amusement park his great-great grandfather founded—was seriously damaged when a hurricane hit his beloved Coney Island neighborhood. Now hungry property developers are circling the wreckage of the once-awesome King’s Wonderland, and Eric’s family is falling apart from the threat of losing it all.

If it weren’t for Monster Club—the epic roleplaying game that Eric and his friends created—Eric’s life would be pretty terrible. Drawing his favorite monster battling with his best friends’ creations is the one thing that still gets Eric excited. So when his friends start to think of Monster Club as a kid’s game and get more interested in other things, Eric just can’t deal. But then Eric happens across a long-lost vial of magic ink that brings their monster drawings to life, and suddenly, Monster Club isn’t just for fun anymore.

The monsters Eric and his friends created are wreaking havoc across Coney, and it’s on the Monster Club to save their city, the amusement park, and maybe, just maybe, Eric’s family, too. It’s a hilarious, heartfelt adventure from the creative minds of Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel that fans of Last Kids on Earth and Spy School are sure to love. 

Gr 3–6—Eric has spent hours perfecting drawings of Brickman, a very special monster who can shoot cement out of one arm and swing a wrecking ball with the other. Using various board game strategies, Eric and his friends in Monster Club battle their monster drawings against each other, vying for dominance and bragging rights. This takes place on paper until Eric comes across some very special (and very smelly) ink passed down from his great-great-grandfather, which causes the monsters to pop off the page as real, three-dimensional, ready-to-rumble beasties. Eric is thrilled—until his nemesis at school draws some out-of-control monsters of his own, leading to a wild battle and chase culminating in a showdown at Coney Island. The biggest challenge of this novel is simply how many different plot points are included: flashbacks to a great-great-grandfather's experiences in the early 20th century, mythical creatures, modern monsters, both obvious and secret villains, friendships, falling outs, the difficulties of outgrowing childhood pleasures, burgeoning romance, parents who may be divorcing, parents who may be losing their business, bullying at school, and the iconic elements of Coney Island. All these combine to create a fast-paced and exciting yet cluttered, thrill ride. While this first entry may have been more successful having eliminated some of those elements, all of these pieces do provide numerous potential plot lines for future entries in the series. Engaging illustrations provide additional interest; characters are depicted with a range of skin tones. VERDICT Electrifying adventures and a clever twist will leave readers anticipating the next volume in this new, jam-packed adventure series.—Alyssa Annico

“It’s like my kid-brain exploded on the page. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved when I was growing up.” — Sadie Sink, star of Stranger Things

"Full of wonder, adventure, heart and humor, Monster Club took me to world a lot like this one but very different and original." — Logan Lerman, star of the Percy Jackson films

“Darren and Ari show that their mastery of storytelling and world creation can extend equally brilliantly to the page. Monster Club is that rare and powerful mix of utter fantasy, humor, realism, and relevancy for these ever-changing times.” — Oliver Jeffers, creator of the NYT #1 bestseller Here We Are

“Action packed and wildly creative.” — Kirkus Reviews

“… [M]onsters coming to life and friends on the outs banding together to defeat a larger evil permeate this action-packed series opener.” — Publishers Weekly

“Electrifying adventures and a clever twist will leave readers anticipating the next volume in this new, jam-packed adventure series” — School Library Journal

Darren Aronofsky is a Coney Island–raised, Academy Award–nominated screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for his surreal, high-concept work in films like Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, The Wrestler, and mother!

Ari Handel is a scientist, writer, producer, and storyteller. He and Darren Aronofsky have worked together for more than twenty years on many projects, including The Fountain, Noah, and the National Geographic series One Strange Rock, Welcome to Earth, and Limitless.