This glorious middle grade fantasy is both richly imagined and fast-paced, keeping me turning the pages until the very end, but not wanting it to end. Dare is a strong, feisty main character who struggles with her "awful," but finds how to channel her inner strength through unraveling the mystery of her father's death, and the monsters and marvels of her world. I adored this book and am left wanting to read more about Dare and her world.

In a stunningly original follow-up to THE VERDIGRIS PAWN, Alysa Wishingrad explores the dangerous nature of power: who holds it, and what stories do they tell to maintain it? It’s these questions that lie at the root of BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS.

And Dare Coates is just the person to ask them. An entirely unique and entirely compelling protagonist, Dare is desperate to know whether the monsters that everyone says ‘used to’ plague Barrow’s Bay are still out there, and whether – as she suspects – they’re responsible for the death of her beloved father. But there are mysteries and deceptions at every turn, and it’s hard to know who, if anyone, can be trusted, and how to distinguish the monstrous from the marvelous. It may just be that Dare’s ‘awful’ – the sharp-edged bits of her that the ‘good’ people of Barrow’s Bay have always mocked – is actually her greatest asset when it comes to exposing the dark truth that’s been buried for far too long.

Dare’s world is so richly built, from the sun-perfect (too perfect, Dare would say) grandeur of Barrow’s Bay to the decidedly dualistic world of City-on-the-Pike, with its glittering spectacles on the one hand, its sad and decaying Must on the other. And Wishingrad’s background in the theater allows readers a gorgeously detailed backstage tour of the fantastical world of the playhouse, which also serves as a perfect metaphor for the illusions all too commonly created by the powerful to serve their own ends.

There are descriptions so perfectly worded they’ll stop you in your tracks, there is heart-thumping action, and there are twists and turns galore as brave and brilliant Dare unravels the mystery of the monsters. Young readers will marvel, indeed. An extraordinary fantasy. My thanks to Harper Collins, NetGalley, and the author for the advanced read.

What worked:
The author creates a wonderful underdog story as a young girl is determined to uncover the truth behind monsters and her father’s death. Dare is incessantly teased and ridiculed at school but she draws a line when insults are directed toward her father. She views herself as an awful person and that emotion is emphasized in the book’s opening pages. Dare resists any attempts to transform her into a proper girl and her awfulness really rears its ugly head when she’s angry. She’s sent away from Barrow’s Bay where the privileged citizens live and she ends up on the mainland where she lives among the impoverished, filth, pollution, and crime. Strange that she forms two strong friendships there.
The plot becomes a bit of a mystery when Dare discovers monsters are more common than she thought plus other characters share information about her father that doesn’t match her memories of him. She thinks all monsters should be killed until they’re extinct but she learns others have contrasting thoughts about the existence of monsters. Some people, like Dare, think they are dangerous, vile monsters while others see these creatures as marvels. Dare’s feelings are a result of her upbringing and she’s never considered the possibility that the knowledge she has learned might be flawed. The monsters versus marvels conflict becomes the main focus of the plot and the author saves many surprises for later.
The author presents a cast of puzzling characters to develop more mystery and keep readers thinking. Gil is a boy who pops up whenever Dare needs help but she doesn’t believe anyone shows kindness without a reason. The book’s ending lends a curious twist to his character. Padgett, the owner of a popular theater, provides Dare with money and information about her father but she’s surprised to learn part of Padgett’s story is a lie. Nell is a young, popular performer in Padgett’s show but she becomes one of Dare’s closest allies. She helps with investigating the disappearance of Dare’s pet “chinchilla” and her fame and charm are valuable assets. However, Nell’s mother (Dare thinks of her as Foghorn) is a whole other story.
What didn’t work as well:
I hesitate to write in this section because the problem is in my own mind. Gil’s character always manages to come to Dare’s rescue before he goes off somewhere unknown. His character is quite compelling but there’s always a shroud of mystery surrounding him. The mystery is revealed in the end and I curse myself for not paying close enough attention to the clues along the way.
The Final Verdict:
Readers can form analogies between this story and the real world. The rich and powerful often control the narrative concerning issues so their lies may seem to be the truth. Rules don’t apply to them until someone refuses to let injustices go unchecked. Young readers will enjoy Dare’s character and her intriguing battle against influential people and politicians performing shady, loathsome atrocities. Overall, I highly recommend you give this book a shot!

Readers won't be able to resist cheering for the wonderfully spirited main character (Dare) as the story opens with the death of her father, causing her aloof mother to fall into the arms of the island's despicable governor, who arranges to ship Dare off to a distant city. As Dare plots to avenge her father's death at the hands (or claws) of the monsters she's been told killed him, she collects a colorful cast of friends including a famous actress, a pet she fondly calls Beastie, and a mysterious boy who isn't at all what he seems. This is a delightful adventure full of plots twists and turns as well as deeper truths about who the monsters in this world really are.

Sometimes the best protagonists are humankind themselves. The evil that men do can be worse than the most horrible monsters.

This books starts out slowly, as we learn that Dare loves her father, and her life on the island where the last monsters were killed hundreds of years ago, a fact that is still celebrated with festivities. Then, her father is killed, by a monster, or a man, we are never quite sure. Dare is sure it is a monster, but she is told it was a man.

Then she is shipped off to the mainland, to get her out of the way, or so we are lead to believe.

There is a lot of hints, here and there, that something else is going on. Even the plays about the great monster killing, the stories all children are told in school, seems to be a lie. Or a series of lies.

It is an interesting world building, because we keep getting pulled this way and that with what the monsters are. Are they monsters or are they marvels? And why do the evil men seek them.

And who is the mysterious boy that helps Dare? We get hints, along the way that he is more than he seems.

An excellent book, that kept me, in the last half, on the edge of my seat, so to speak. You just have to get through the first few chapters to realize there is so much more.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This is coming out the 12th of September 2023.

An utterly absorbing read!

Dare's journey takes readers from the bright sunlight to the darkest shadows and back again in a fast-paced, twisting adventure. The characters are so fully imagined that they feel like people I know, and the fantastical creatures and settings were an effortless joy to imagine.

For fans of The Midnight Children and The Last Mapmaker.

Fantastic. This is one of the most atmospheric books that I've read in a long time. I got a full sense of the squalor and decay that is prevalent in every home, every business, and every street of the region—from the decaying wallpaper, to the dust and soot, to the threadbare clothes. Great world building.

A very good mystery/action/thriller-type plot, filled with great life lessons. Wishingrad reminds readers to question everything—to not blindly take information as truth, to question authority, even to question your own senses. Research, learn, think for yourself.

Beautiful story, beautiful morals, beautiful learning moments.

I think it's a fun, heartwarming and adventurous tale. I loved our main character and the plot was interesting. This would be great for all ages, not just middle grade.

Dare Coastes is an outcast, she’s everything that Barrow Bay doesn’t like but she’s fine with that because her father is the Captain of the Guard who protects the town against monsters..... but when he is killed while on patrol and the governor makes up a story, Dare is determined to uncover the truth of what happened to her father. With her mother being more concerned about getting remarried to the governor and the whole town just pretending that monsters don’t exist, Dare knows its up to only her to discover what truly happened, but then the governor sends her off to the mainland, away from any hope of discovering the truth... or so she thinks. Dare soon discovers that everything she thought she knew about monsters was wrong. Soon she finds herself making unlikely friends, uncovering conspiracies and secrets, and possibly befriending a monster of her own all the while discovering who her father really was and who the real monsters are. I thought that this was a really interesting and fun story about a girl who is determined to do anything to find out the truth about what happened to her father. She tries her hardest and does whatever it takes to get what she wants. The mystery was interesting and she really does go through so much. Overall, it’s a fun read that keeps you interested all the way until the end!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*