Author: Mel Friedman

Illustrator: Eric Smith

Publisher: Penny Candy Press, an imprint of Brighter Minds Publishing

ISBN: 1-55791-178-4

Vampires, werewolves, street luging and speed climbing . . . Extreme Monsters: The Blue Moon Effect has them all. The first in a string of page-turning chapter books featuring a lineup of stuntmen with superpowers, this series debut introduces the Extreme Monsters daredevil sports team: a skateboarding vampire, a street luging witch, an in-line skating werewolf, a BMX-biking monster, and a speed-climbing mummy. Together with their science-minded mentor and the help of a batty mascot named Bela, the Extreme Monsters face down seedy villains in pursuit of championship trophies and standards of good sportsmanship.

In Book #1, The Blue Moon Effect, vampire Val and his Extreme Monsters teammates gear up to compete in the Howl-O-Ween Games, the premier extreme-sports competition in Monsterey Valley. Meanwhile, Damon Christopher, the Extreme Monsters’ chief competitor and archenemy, employs his slimy minions in a lineup of schemes to bring the heroes down with devious tricks and vicious cheating tactics.

The Monsters’ problems are compounded when their science-minded mentor, Doc, reveals that a blue moon is on the way—a phenomenon with effects so devastating for monsters that it isn’t safe to compete in the Howl-O-Ween Games at all.

Unwilling to concede a win to Damon Christopher’s cheating team, the monsters must find a way to deflect the blue moon’s powers and foil Christopher’s ultimate plot to harness the destructive moonbeams for future evil—all while defending their title as extreme sports champions of Monsterey Valley.

This 95-page book, divided into seven fast-paced chapters, packs appeal for reluctant readers, particularly boys. The main characters boast superpowers from spell-casting to transforming into mist, as well as a few gruesome habits like the random unwinding of mummy bandages. Sports lingo like “Berani-a front flip” punches up the dialogue, and the setting is peppered with enough half-pipes and guardrails to keep the characters in constant motion. Science fiction elements like Doc’s Electro-Optical Atomic Obfuscator also tag this story as one that’s likely to hold the interest of reticent middle-grade readers.

Trendy lingo (like “dude” and “beefed”) may date this book, and its tendency to favor plot and setting over character development may not earmark it for many literary awards.  But its catchy title and subject matter, a fast-moving storyline, and an engaging cover design will draw and keep the attention of its target audience effortlessly.

The book’s additional strengths include puzzles at the end of each chapter that develop reading comprehension and retention. As readers move through the chapters and solve the puzzles, they collect elements of a secret code that, when completed at the end of the book, can be used to log in to a companion Web site where additional Extreme Monsters games and activities can be accessed. The book also contains a glossary of extreme sports terms for readers who might not be familiar with the lingo. By the last page, readers will be logging on to the Web site with one hand and reaching for the next book of the series with the other.

The Extreme Monsters series makes a valuable contribution to school classrooms and libraries aiming to diversify their offerings for reluctant readers. Kids who struggle to engage with chapter books will find a welcome change in this series, and the comprehension activities will fit in well with classroom or home-school reading programs.

The above review was contributed by Jennifer MacKay: Jenny has published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. She is also a journals copy editor for Sage Publications and does independent consulting as a developmental book editor. Her chief writing and editing interests are in the juvenile market.