Frankly, I'm surprised at how many people found this disappointing or boring ... I thought it was quite good! Definitely a dark horror tale, somewhat fantasy, more Ancient-Dark-Unbending-Things-Live-in-the-Woods. This isn't a fluff tale where everything gets put in a neat package, or things seem to work out and there's love, blah blah blah. It's decidedly NOT that, and I fully appreciate that in the YA universe, where things are syrupy and sappy and dramatic and cloyingly "For-the-Kids."

The creepiness was subtle, then unwavering - kind of "The Craft" in an ancient-dark-woods-fairy kind of way, if that makes any sense at all? People are hurt; people disappear; bad things are required, and are not forgiven. The imagery is fantastic. The writing put me in the woods, in the cold and the damp. I even felt a misty kind of air in those crunching, creaking woods.

The book doesn't really gallop or even trot along, so much as slither and slip beneath a leaf-covered ground. That's what this book is like. Dark and anciently so.

I'm not sure what to say about Here There Are Monsters, if we're being honest. It began strongly, and it kept me reading until a little less than halfway through, where I found myself struggling each time to pick it up. But I made it!!! And I'm not totally sorry I did; I'm just confused.
The story centers around Skye, a girl who has recently relocated with her family to a swamp parts unknown so they can all have a fresh start. Skye's sister, Deirdre, isn't exactly average--she's what a lot of the other kids call weird. But Deirdre doesn't want to change who she is to satisfy some norm; all she wants is to be friends with her sister forever. But then Deirdre disappears, and it becomes rapidly clear to Skye that she, via the fantasy games they played as children that Deirdre never grew out of, is the only one who can find and save her sister.
Here There Are Monsters starts out very strong. Skye is a fairly solid character in the beginning. She would do anything for her sister, at least until she realizes that Deirdre doesn't actually WANT to grow up. The use of a back and forth in time narrative allows us to watch the relationship between Skye and Deirdre begin to age and dissolve amidst the present day search for the missing sister. Their relationship was classically well crafted, and anyone with a sibling will easily be able to identify with Skye and her struggle to separate her identity from the one created by their relationship. The parent characters are static but well written; it's tough to lose a child, and that grief is well portrayed, albeit largely in the background.
Where the narrative all falls apart for me personally is when the magic heavily seeps in. I don't understand the monsters because we lack origin for them. What we are slightly led to believe as the monsters begin to emerge turns out not to be the case at all, and the ending left me with more questions than answers--but not in a good way. God's honest truth, I thought Skye was schizophrenic for most of the book and was actually the one who murdered her sister. And that would have been a great twist! Sorry for the spoiler, but that's not the case. I won't tell y'all how it does end, but suffice it to say, I'm less than satisfied. While the book itself was well written, we aren't given a proper foundation to understand the magic that is the end of the tale. I appreciate that Skye's need to protect Deirdre carries through nearly to the end of the book. But I don't like the person she becomes and the ending didn't sit right with me. The main rule of a good fantasy is that the reader is able to suspend their disbelief, and I was not. I'm not sure if this book was actually trying to be a fantasy or whether it wanted to be a contemporary in dark clothing, and I'm not sure the author knew either.
2.5 stars. Many points for mostly well written characters, with deductions for a confusing plot. If you like a contemporary with somewhat of a fantasy element, you might find this one at a higher rating, but be prepared to leave it with some level of confusion.
**I received Here There Are Monsters as an ARC from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Here There Are Monsters is scheduled for publication August 1st, 2019, by Sourcebooks Fire.

This book is beautifully written and full of imagination! The writer completely immerses us in the setting (it reminds me of the swampy woods behind my own house!) and introduces us to characters who are interesting and relatable. And she doesn’t skimp out on scenes that are sure to freak out future readers! This was an extremely enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I requested this one because the creepy cover and synopsis sounded so interesting, unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one.

Though it wasn’t for me, I still think the target audience may enjoy it so I’m giving it a 3star rating.

Much like Bérubé's first book The Dark Beneath the Ice there are some really interesting, very creepy moments! There's a lot of atmospheric moments here, and I loved the relationship between the sisters. I feel like pretty soon this author is going to knock it out of the park with something, there's a lot of really good stuff.

A truly creepy book. This was absolutely terrifying. It was such a fantastic sister story and I loved how complicated and tangled emotions were.

I requested this from Netgalley because the cover looked really cool and creepy, and I was so disappointed to just not be able to get into it.

Skye's sister Deirdre withdraws from everyone and becomes fixated on the woods, building sculptures out of sticks and bones (creepy, right? You can see why I was drawn to this book). The description says that Skye is tired of being the knight in shining armor, always rescuing her "insufferable" sister from danger, but I wasn't expecting to hear about how much Skye hates Deirdre so much.

I only made it a quarter of the way through before I had to give up. I was tired of hearing about how Skye hates having to look after her sister, and how awful Skye's parents are, especially since that "awfulness" was often demonstrated by parents expecting her to simply be responsible.

Overall, the part that I was able to muscle through was aggravating, not creepy, spooky.

This book is a roller coaster ride through dark monster filled woods and the human psyche! Bérubé has woven an intricate story in Here There Be Monsters.

The story hits the ground running when Skye is woken in the middle of the night to find out that her younger sister Deirdre is missing. Deirdre is more than just typical-little-sister-annoying: she’s been challenging her whole life. She is unruly, wild, doesn’t want to bathe or comb her hair and it happier outside up to her knees in mud than anywhere else. Skye, on the other hand, wants to be normal. They’ve just moved to a new town and Skye wants to start over… reinvent herself.

At first, Skye thinks that her sister is off somewhere in the woods and just wants attention but soon enough, she realizes there is a lot more going on. There is something in the woods… and it’s creeping up on Skye…much like her own past.

What I loved about this book is that the story isn’t just about the monsters we come up with in our imagination. The monsters in this story are very real and very dangerous. As Skye tries to play the game the monsters want her to…she has to come to terms with her own past and the possibility that she is also a monster.

I don’t want to give away the plot of the story. Bérubé does a wonderful job of unfurling the tale at just the right pace.

If you’re a fan of Young Adult horror then you should definitely pick up a copy of this book. The writing is dark and descriptive, the characters compelling and complex. The main character is sixteen years old but keep in mind this is a scare book and there is a fair amount of violence.

I’ve waited a week after reading this novel to decide to write a review because I wanted to wait and see if my feelings for this strange little book would remain the same or somehow change. Thing is, I walked into this book thinking that I was getting something like The Blair Witch Project (or at the very least some sort of witchcraft) since it was advertised that way, but instead what I got was a strange tale of childhood monsters and magical kingdoms that come to life in the woods and a missing girl case.

So I’m going to divide this review into two sections: Pros & Cons.

Pros:

I love the dark, atmospheric imagery woven throughout the whole story. It was mighty creepy and rocked in all its dark gothic glory.

The characters reacted to situations in realistic ways (meaning that the characters didn’t give the protagonist Skye a free pass when she shared a very dark secret about her past).

It kept me invested in the story and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Cons:

It wasn’t until halfway through the book that we finally received confirmation that something supernatural was indeed happening.

All the characters were unlikeable, except for William. The protagonist Skye, not only was she unlikeable, but she was also manipulative and had a cruel streak that she justified endlessly and blamed a lot of her actions on her sister.

Dead pets and other animals.

The ending. While it was realistic, it seemed to just end leaving a lot of questions unanswered.

Overall, this was a unique story and I did enjoy it, but I don’t know if it’ll be something that a lot of people could get into unless you’re into dark tales and don’t mind the somewhat slow pacing.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. This book really sucked me in. From the first page I felt myself relating to the sisters, Skye and Deirdre, and their relationships with each other and their family. Deirdre sometimes frustrated me, but I liked her and her wild imagination. I felt like with a good creative outlet she’d have been amazing novelist, director, or playwright, but her parents (especially her mother) were too wrapped up in themselves. I sympathized with Skye the most. Navigating social circles is hard enough without having to defend and care for a kid sister. And the way her mother flat out blamed her for her sister’s disappearance appalled me.
This book was so imaginative - not necessarily edge-of-my-seat nail-biter, but a major page turner. It flipped back and forth between Skye’s memories of her sister and the present day search efforts. The setting of this book was kind of vague. I knew they’d moved “across the country” but I found myself trying to pinpoint their exact location, which I actually really enjoyed cause it forced me to create visuals and patterns within my own head.
Very well-written and very interesting with beautifully integrated fantasy. The dialogue got to be a little much in part 3 - a lot of the story heavily relied on these teenage conversations, but that happens. I’d definitely recommend this book to all kinds of people. Anyone with a kid sister/brother. Anyone who has trouble making friends or fitting in. Anyone who’s into mysteries or family drama. Really, with the little touch of romance, this book was perfectly balance.

*eARC provided by NetGalley and SourceFire Books in exchange for an honest review*

Well, I liked the writing. That might sound like a poor consolation prize, but this book is really well written. I adored the imagery and metaphor and speech that the author used. The plot, on the other hand....

I knew it was set up to be creepy. Heck, just look at the cover. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded creepy. I just wanted more. More of anything, really. Basic summary: after family moves to new town, the younger sister goes missing. The older sisters tries to find her, and meets some bony creatures. (when does this action take place? 47% of the way through the book). And it doesn't improve from there. Barely anything happens in the book. Despite it being about a search for a missing sister (a strange strange girl), it is so low stakes. And the ending, don't even get met started on the ending.

I had hope for this book. Creepy isn't really my thing, but I was looking forward to it. But it's not creepy, it's just weird. Barely anything happens, and consequences, something the author tries to play with, fall very flat. It is wonderfully well written though. I will look out for more books by Amelinda Berube.

Skye is tired of looking after her younger sister Deirdre. Precious Deirdre who can never get her head out of her strange fantasy worlds, who always seems set apart. Skye's tired of playing along and protecting her, so when Deirdre doesn't come inside one evening Skye just leaves her and falls asleep.

And wakes up to discover Deirdre is missing. Now she'll have to go deep into the heart of those almost forgotten games to reclaim her. And it will cost her dearly.


The summary made this book sound amazing, and there's nothing wrong with it exactly. It's just not for me; I couldn't get into it, I thought it dragged, I wasn't really interested in what happened next. I think it'll do very well in the right hands; sadly, those hands are not mine.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the review copy. HERE THERE ARE MONSTERS just wasn't my cup of tea, the pace was too slow and a bit on the boring side for what I normally enjoy reading and I struggled to connect with the characters. Would recommend to a couple of friends looking for a creepy read, just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

Here There Are Monsters begins when Skye's sister, Deirdre, disappears. Deirdre has always been the "weird sister" and when their family moved to a new town, Skye started to make friends while Deirdre didn't. But Deirdre didn't seem too bothered; all she needed was Skye. They had their childhood games together, which Skye has recently grown out of. But now Deirdre's gone, and Skye needs to find her.

But Skye's search leads to her places and things that she doesn't expect. She find something much more sinister and otherworldly than a regular disappearance of kidnapping. It leaves her wondering - how much will she need to sacrifice to get her sister back safely?

I thought this book was creepy and intriguing! For anyone looking for something to read for the upcoming Halloween season, this is a good one. Once I really got into Here There Are Monsters I could hardly put it down.

Thank you again to Netgalley!

Truly an intense read that sucks you in. We’ve all lived in fantasy worlds but this brought them to life. Excellently written characters and plot line.

Some horror books are straightforward and present easy scares. Others are richly layered and dreamlike, which often makes them polarizing with readers. Here There Are Monsters falls firmly into the second camp, making it the type of story that fans of A24’s arthouse horror films will enjoy.

Labeled as YA fiction (but definitely a quality read for adults), this book explores how far someone will go to save a family member. In the beginning, teenager Skye seems like a bratty older sister who takes her disdain for her younger sister, Deirdre, way too far. But after Deirdre disappears and Skye has to face her worst fears and tumultuous past, it becomes clear just how damaging her sister’s fantasy world has been.

The author mixes horrible dreams with real life, making the reader occasionally question what’s actually real. The titular monsters are a great example, and they’re different enough from the norm to truly stand out for horror lovers.

Don’t go into this expecting a dark fantasy that wraps everything up with a happy bow. This is a surreal horror novel that isn’t afraid to get grisly, nor does it shy away from brutalizing the main characters.

Some will call this a slow burn, and it is, to a point. But it’s also a fully realized tale about what drives us, the choices we make, and whether or not we can ever be redeemed for them. Here There Are Monsters, indeed, along with the shocking complexities of the human condition.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I have been given this book a while back and I have tried to read it on multiple occasions with no success. I have read a chapter at a time but haven’t been hooked and unfortunately will need to DNF it. I hope down the road when I am in the mood for this kind of book I can try picking it up again and giving it another go.

Skye has always been the knight in shining armor that her little sister Deirdre needed. After moving clear across the country, she hopes for a fresh start in their new, remote neighborhood, leaving behind the childish games she and her sister used to play for new friends. But Deirdre is being weirder than ever, fixated on the swampy stretch of woods behind their house and constructing terrifying and monstrous sculptures out of sticks and bones.

Then Deirdre disappears and one of her creatures, now animated by some unknown force, comes scratching at Skye’s window in the middle of the night. Skye knows that nothing will stop her from bringing Deirdre home, not her new friends, well-meaning parents or the secrets she’s been keeping. Although she tries to keep herself from getting wrapped up in the fantasy world her sister has created, she is eventually drawn into something dark, creepy and all-together unexpected.

Flashing between past and present, Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé was dark and intriguing from the very start. Although this isn’t the type of book that I would normally read, I’m glad that I gave it a chance. I truly enjoyed the writing, even when it made it hard for me to leave the bed to just use the bathroom. It was just so creepy. Especially the creatures that Deirdre created - the descriptions of them gave me goosebumps every single time!

My biggest problem with the book was that I didn’t really care much for Skye or Deirdre. Skye was kind of awful and Deirdre wasn’t any better. I think most of the time, Skye used her sister being weird and needing protection as an excuse to get away with doing terrible things. Plus, for the whole first half of the book, she didn’t even care that her sister was missing. And Deirdre was so selfish and rude. She didn’t want Skye to have any friends outside of her. I’m all about co-dependency but this relationship was a bit much for me, even when they weren’t exactly speaking to one another anymore. Fortunately, I don’t need to unconditionally love a character to enjoy their story.

With good pacing and smooth writing, Here There Are Monsters was a quick and enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it to fans of creepy atmospheres and thrilling dark tales. Especially ones about how easy it can be to get wrapped up in your own fantasy and how quickly those fantasies can become nightmares if allowed.

Started off well but got muddied down midway. Disjointed.

Also Skye is kind of the worst. I think it would have been better without her. Give me this story from Deirdre's perspective.

This Story is hard to wrap my head around there a lot to it and not everything is fully explained like was it some waking dreams those kids were having? I don't know, but I do know it creepy and it makes you think twice about going in the wood alone twice let alone with someone with you. The Author does a great job making the main character's sister seem creepy and a bit crazy like she needs some mental help. She also makes the main character not fully likable she herself is slightly on her crazy side and don't know how to take responsibility for her actions. Overall I really enjoy this creepy read that I wasn't fully sure of what in the world was going on.