Dian Curtis Regan is the author of the Holt titles Monster of the Month Club, Monsters in the Attic, Monsters in Cyberspace, and a picture book, Dear Doctor Sillybear, illustrated by Randy Cecil. She lives in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Melissa Sweet has illustrated many books for children, including Monsters in Cyberspace. She makes her home in Portland, Maine.
Grade 4-6AThe final book in this quartet continues the adventures of 13-year-old Rilla Harmony Earth and the seemingly stuffed monsters she receives by mail at the bed and breakfast where she lives with her New Age mother and aunt. These creatures sometimes come alive, an occurrence somehow connected to cosmic forces, and Rilla must feed them and keep them happy and hidden in her attic bedroom. When December and the final monster arrive, she realizes that she is in for big trouble: there will be an eclipse and a comet at the same time on Christmas Eve. She must also help her mother prepare for her aunt's wedding that will take place that same night. Add to this the fact that Rilla is about to meet her father, whom she found through the Internet, for the very first time, and you have one stressed-out teenager. There is lots of tongue-in-cheek humor about Rilla's politically correct family as she tries to be a typical teen, complete with a crush on a fellow homeschooler, in the midst of a very atypical situation. Regan is particularly adept at mixing fantasy with realistic behavior and concerns. While it builds on the three previous books, this entertaining light fantasy can be enjoyed on its own. Sweet's black-and-white cartoons add to the fun. Readers are left with the possibility that Rilla might wake up on Christmas morning to something as magical as last year's gift of a membership in the Monster of the Month Club.AConnie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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