Linus is struggling to create art after his father's tragic death. However, picking up his charcoal may be the only way to stop a monster from destroying their home...

Monster Tree is a wonderful addition to the ever-growing collection of middle grade horror! I loved its eerie vibe and unique spin on the classic monster trope. However, it's more than just a scary story. It's also a story about friendships, grief, rekindling passions, and more. There's also a good amount of pop culture references (though I'm still not sure Monster Hunter is a "first person shooter," haha). I think fans of Ali Malinenko will enjoy this creepy, yet heartwarming, tale.

This book also features a lot of representation, such as a colorblind main character with asthma and a character who uses hearing aids.
There is one dark scene involving (wild) animal death.

Croak!

A well-crafted middle grades novel about grief, moving forward from loss, and the power of art. Highly recommended for middle school readers and their teachers.

Monster Tree— compared to Stranger Things— is a great story of grief and confronting both the real monsters next door and the monsters we battle deep within. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this story— as a child who loved the movie Monster House, I could not help but draw a resemblance to that story. I was so impressed and captivated by this story and its frightening and tender moments. I would absolutely recommend it to fellow adults who love middle grade stories as well as the intended middle grade audience.

Something evil lurks in Linus’s neighborhood…
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Ever since Linus’s dad died and he and his mother moved across town, he hasn’t picked up his charcoal to draw once. Like his artist father, Linus has a gift with art, but can’t bring himself to draw again due to his grief. When a new friend, Abby, and BFF, Spencer, team up to figure out what’s going on with the malevolent tree in his neighbor’s yard, Linus must fight for what and who he loves most in this world.
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This was such a spooky, yet tenderhearted MG book by @sarahallenbooks While equal parts terrifying and poignant, Allen is able to weave a supernatural story that will tug at your heartstrings and give you chills. Fans of A Monster Calls and The Night Gardener will love this novel releasing September 3.

CW: hospitalization, grief, parental death (theme), kidnapping, asthma, car accident (discussed)

Thank you Netgalley, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and Sarah Allen.

This was a beautifully written middle grade story dealing with loss and grief. It would be a good story for kids who like books that are a little spooky and kids who love art. Linus really learned how to process the loss of his father throughout the book.

Something evil is growing in this spine-tingling middle grade novel about a boy who must protect his neighborhood from a malevolent monster tree while dealing with the recent loss of his father. Linus used to be an artist, like his dad. Then his father died and Linus’s mom moved them to the other side of the city, hoping for a fresh start. Maybe, for the first time since losing Dad, Linus will even start drawing again.But there’s something unusual about their new neighbor Maude, and something wrong with the grotesque tree in her backyard. At night Linus sees it moving, changing, growing. When increasingly bizarre events plague the neighborhood—massive claw marks, missing pets, sightings of a red-eyed creature—he suspects Maude and her tree are to blame, even if his mom doesn’t quite believe him.With his new home and new neighborhood under threat, Linus teams up with his goofy best friend Spencer and no-nonsense neighbor Abby to unearth whatever sinister seeds have been planted next door . . . even as something truly monstrous is taking root.From the author of The Nightmare House ("A sophisticated choice for horror readers." —Booklist, starred review), Sarah Allen weaves the supernatural adventure of Stranger Things with a poignant tale of grief, healing, and the uniting force of friendship in Monster Tree.

While I know I'm not the target demographic for this book, and I tend to dislike most young adult and mid level books, this debut novel had enough in it to keep me entertained. A good creature feature monster story that would be great for teens and young adults.