The Ghoul Next Door
Monster High, Book #2
Lisi Harrison
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell
Synopsis:
Cleopatra De Nile.
New pet snake.
Has Deuce-the hottest guy in school-all wrapped up
Herve Leger bandage dress, strappy gold platforms.
Cleo was the queen bee of the RADS, the normies, and everyone in between at Merston High. But not it’s ‘Frankie this’ and ‘Melody that’ . . . these new girls sure know how to get her lashes in a tangle. When Cleo lands a golden Teen Vogue photo op for her friends, everything seems to be back on track . . . until they bail to be in some film . . .Frankie and Melody’s film! Can’t a royal get some loyal?
Frankie Stein.
Frankie lost her head over Brett once and vows never to do it again. But that she has a choice: Bekka is clinging to her guy like plastic wrap. But when Brett comes up with a plan that could help the RADs live free, sparks fly, and Bekka will stop at nothing to put out the flames . . . even if it means destroying the entire monster community.
Melody Carver.
The clock is tick-tick-ticking. Melody has a serious deadline to save her boyfriend, Jackson from being exposed by the vengeance-seeking Bekka. But Cleo is making it royally difficult for the normie while threatening her acceptance into the RADs exclusive group . . . a group that Melody suspects she has more in common with than she ever thought.
Fitting in is out.
Review:
The Ghoul Next Door begins right where Monster High ended. Melody is still clueless as to how to help her schizophrenic boyfriend Jackson, who thanks to his psycho grandfather who had turned himself into Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde complex, ends up turning into someone else when he gets too hot. Bekka continues to send text messages to Melody, letting her know time is running out. In a noble act, Frankie decides the best way to go is to turn herself in. She is, after all, the reason why her family and the RADs where exposed. Thankfully, Billy (the only invisible RAD) comes up with a genius plan to keep Frankie hidden and Jackson from having his dark secret exposed to the world. In a crazy turn of events, Brett breaks up with Bekka and declares his love for Frankie on live TV no less! The two team up together to help the RADs show the “normies” (humans) that they have nothing to fear from the RADs. They decide to make a documentary interviewing all the young members of the RADs and promise to blur everyone’s face. But faster than electricity can spark from Frankie’s finger, everything starts to fall apart. Cleo is being a royal pain and determined to not only shut down the video but get everyone to believe Melodork (Melody) shouldn’t be trusted. Bekka isn’t far behind. Along with her sidekick, Haylee, Bekka will stop at nothing to prove monsters do exist and steal Brett back from Frankie. But Melody soon has something even more shocking to deal with: she may be more like the RADs than she knows.
The novel is still told from three different perspectives this time around: Melody, Frankie, and Cleo’s. Cleo is undeniably stuck up, ridiculously arrogant, and incredibly selfish. But what else could you expect from a girl born to be a queen. She has the chance to be in a Teen Vogue photo shoot and display her jewelry sketches to the world. Cleo finally gets her moment to shine. The problem: Cleo’s friends bail on her in order to do the documentary. A huge power shift transcends. Cleo is dethroned by Melody and Frankie and will stop at nothing to return to the top. Cleo is so grandiose in her drama and selfishness I had trouble being able to get through her chapters. She had far too many chapters narrated by her voice and I wished the author would have shortened how many she got. Cleo just didn’t seem to have a lot of substance. She does show more depth later on in the book but I couldn’t appreciate it as much because she is so stuck up!
Melody and Frankie don’t get to narrate as much as I would have preferred. Frankie is adorable with her new relationship with Brett. She is still strong, fierce, and gusty. She is still determined to free the RADs from their self-inflicted exile and join the human world with the monster world. Melody is learning to stand up for herself more and conquer her fears. She is still trying to find the right footing but she is much stronger and accepting of herself. Melody is also wonderfully loyal and I really like that about her.
I also really loved Billy, the only invisible RAD within the monster group. He is such a prankster and so funny. He is also sweet, daring, and kind. He ended up narrating one of the chapters in the novel. It was very out of the blue, which took me a moment to wrap my mind around, and was too short! I hope Billy gets more of a voice in the next installment or even gets his own book. He has become one of my favorite characters of the series.
The Monster High novels are very silly and superficial. There is a great deal of mentions of clothes brands, jewelry brands, shoe brands, make-up lines, and grooming. There is also a lot of boy fighting. The writing at times seems to be geared toward the preteen young adult world and is full of a great deal of angst. The humor is relatively good but can get obnoxious at times. But underneath all of that fluff, is an actual story. The central idea behind The Ghoul Next Door is a civil rights like movement in the monster community. There is heart to the characters and a deep loving camaraderie.
The Ghoul Next Door is a fun, light, and quick read. The modern day versions of the classic scary monster stories are created with unique twists and good lessons. There is a character everyone can relate to and it’s an amusing escape for a few hours everyone will enjoy.
