Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.
This week, I’m pleased to welcome my oldest son, John-John, for a special review of the first two books in the Lovecraft Middle School series, Professor Gargoyle and The Slither Sisters:
Okay, when I started middle school I knew things were going to be a little weird. My experience couldn’t compare to seventh-grader Robert Arthur’s experience at Lovecraft Middle School.
In the first book, Professor Gargoyle, Robert finds himself assigned to Lovecraft Middle School in the south part of town While all his friends were assigned to attend another middle school. His mom raved about the school, talking about all the great technology and the fact that it was built using all recycled material. What makes it worse is that when he walks into school on the first day, Robert runs into Glenn Torkells, the bully who tormented him in middle school. Could it get any worse? Definitely.
On the first day, students find rats running down the halls and in the classroom. His science teacher, Professor Gargoyle, is a bit odd. Robert gets lost (literally lost, not just losing track of time or getting lost in a book) in the school library. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Within the first few days of school Robert discovers his mother was right; Lovecraft Middle School isn’t your average middle school. The story (and secrets!) behind the school are far darker and deadlier than can possibly be imagined.
In the second book, The Slither Sisters, after barely escaping the creatures that lie waiting in Lovecraft Middle School, Robert discovers that two of his classmates, twins Sarah and Sylvia Price, are actually horrible and hideous monsters in disguise. If that isn’t bad enough, one of them is running for Student Council President, determined to take control of the school. Once again Robert and his “unique” best friends, the strange group of heroes must put an end to their campaign and prevent the monsters from taking control of his middle school.
Ok, so let’s start out with the covers. I admit, a cover of a book can persuade me to read a book. These books are holograms! At first, the faces on the covers look like normal people but when you walk past the book or tilt it at an angle, you see the true image of these horrid monsters! Awesome, right?
It doesn’t stop there, though. I’m a middle-schooler and I found myself relating to Robert’s character. Although he’s in middle school, he hasn’t gone through a growth spurt or his voice hasn’t changed like the other kids. He pretty much looks the same as he did in elementary school. This is the second selling point for me: I can relate to the main character.
Thirdly: Man, is this book spooky! I don’t typically like spooky or scary stories like my mom and younger brother do. But something about these stories allowed me to overlook these feelings. I think it has something to do with the things I list above: the epic covers and a character I understand. Without telling you too much, the middle school Robert attends is built using the materials of a mansion that burned to the ground years ago. A mansion that was home to a pretty evil guy who performed some pretty crazy experiments. Using the materials of this supposedly haunted house allows the creatures that once roamed the mansion to now walk the halls of Lovecraft Middle School. And I thought some of my teachers were monsters!! But what I like about these books most of all is that Robert, a pretty uninteresting, normal kid winds up being the hero. Who doesn’t love a story like that!?
Best of all is that there are more books in this series that focus on some of the other creatures of Lovecraft Middle School! I have the third one, Teacher’s Pest, already even though it doesn’t come out until May. Mom says I need to wait a little longer before I review it but trust me, you are going to want to read all three books in one sitting.
Ok, Mom says I should also mention that although this series is set in a middle school, kids younger than that age can read and enjoy these books as well. Like my brother, Justin, for example. When these books arrived we had to wrestle to see who got to read them first! I won’t say who won….
So, I hope I made you want to read these books. I plan on donating my copies to my middle school so that other students can read them. THANKS!
