The Monsters of Morley Manor

The Monsters of Morley Manor is a little bit outside Coville's usual material. It starts off ghosty-horror when five monsters are brought to life, then progresses through fantasy, complete with magic rock and wizard guys, to sci-fi with world-hopping and aliens, then back to ghosty-horror. Needless to say, it's awesome.

The protagonists are Anthony Walker and his younger sister Sarah. Anthony is about ten-ish and Sarah is a few years younger, but unlike many authors Coville resists the urge to oversimplify them. The book deals with some complicated issues, involving Anthony and Sarah's recently-deceased grandfather, the afterlife, betrayal, time travel's effect on relationships, and a few other things, but it's presented as just real show more things that have to be dealt with, and the kids deal.

The book is suitable for anyone who can read a chapter book. The style is simple, but the plot is complicated enough to be interesting. The ending was sad, but perfectly executed, and the only thing wrong with the whole thing is that Bruce Coville never wrote a sequel. show less

Morley Manor is the spookiest house in Owl's Roost, Nebraska and Old Man Morley has passed away. A developer has bought it and is going to tear it down, so all the contents are up for sale to clear it out.

Anthony and his sister Sarah decide to check out the weirdest house and see what they may find. Much of the stuff is either too expensive or gets snatched up by all the folks that came to see. While in the library, Sarah sees an unusual box and points it out to Anthony. It isn't priced so they wind up negotiating for it and get it.

When Anthony later pries it open he finds another box with "Martin Morley's Little Monsters" on it, along with "Open not this box lest my curse fall upon you." Old Man Morley was considered weird and this show more just seemed to prove it....especially when he saw what was inside - five tiny metal statues of strange looks.

From this point on magic, science and strangeness start and take the kids on the weirdest adventure you can imagine to places you can't. "Werewolves, vampires, wizards, aliens and more populate this wild tale of how two clever kids save the world from an unearthly fate.

A fun read and one that has humour and adventure. Worth the time. show less

I love Bruce Coville and this book had such a fun cover that I decided to give it a shot. Sarah and Anthony bring a box with some monster toys in it only to discover that the monsters are alive and were once human sized. Sarah and Anthony return them to their full size and they realize that the Earth is in danger.

It was a fun story and the variety of characters were really interesting. It's a neat quick read.

I love Bruce Coville and this book had such a fun cover that I decided to give it a shot. Sarah and Anthony bring a box with some monster toys in it only to discover that the monsters are alive and were once human sized. Sarah and Anthony return them to their full size and they realize that the Earth is in danger.

It was a fun story and the variety of characters were really interesting. It's a neat quick read.

I love Bruce Coville and this book had such a fun cover that I decided to give it a shot. Sarah and Anthony bring a box with some monster toys in it only to discover that the monsters are alive and were once human sized. Sarah and Anthony return them to their full size and they realize that the Earth is in danger.

It was a fun story and the variety of characters were really interesting. It's a neat quick read.

I love Bruce Coville and this book had such a fun cover that I decided to give it a shot. Sarah and Anthony bring a box with some monster toys in it only to discover that the monsters are alive and were once human sized. Sarah and Anthony return them to their full size and they realize that the Earth is in danger.

It was a fun story and the variety of characters were really interesting. It's a neat quick read.

Classic Bruce Coville. Heartfelt weirdness and fun with a bit of horror.