This fast-paced read will keep readers on the edge of their seats!
Someone is killing boys in a small town. The murder weapon is a tr... read full description
Someone is killing boys in a small town. The murder weapon is a tr... read full description
reviews
Apr 22, 2011
Karen
rated it: 
Whoever wrote the synopsis that appears on the jacket flap of this book should be ashamed of him or herself. By making it appear as if The Monster Variations is a horror thriller, the unknown blurbster has done both the potential reader and the book's brilliant author, Daniel Kraus, a great disservice. The Monster Variations is a visceral tale of twelve-year-old boys on the cusp of manhood. The story is riveting, the imagery remarkable ("his heart scraped itself across the sharp blades of h
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Jan 20, 2010
Cornmaven
rated it: 
I really liked this book, although it was very complex. Made me think a lot. It's a combination mystery and coming-of-age story about boys living in a small town. It starts with one of the characters leaving for college, meeting a childhood friend who is pumping gas outside of town, and then launches into the story of their summer when they were 12.
The title refers to all the different types of monsters people have in their lives - family members, unseen monsters, internal monsters, fak More...
The title refers to all the different types of monsters people have in their lives - family members, unseen monsters, internal monsters, fak More...
May 12, 2011
Mark
rated it:
"Willie Van Allen's arm was gone. The truck that hit him escaped, silver and purring, and it swept up a gust that was almost refreshing. In the hazy afterburn he lay, his face blank as sand, white as foam.
Willie's arm, or what was left of it, was tamped into the dirt, now part of the old tar road along with stones and bugs and beer cans and scrub-grass. There was blood, but it had mixed with dirt, become mud. There was bone, too, but the bone dove beneath the mud like a tree root. More...
Willie's arm, or what was left of it, was tamped into the dirt, now part of the old tar road along with stones and bugs and beer cans and scrub-grass. There was blood, but it had mixed with dirt, become mud. There was bone, too, but the bone dove beneath the mud like a tree root. More...
Dec 14, 2009
Kelly
rated it: 
I really appreciate stories that are about a turning point in somebody's life -- that "one summer" that changes everything. I would definitely say that this book falls into that category. The book starts off in the present, and the reader is given a slight glimpse into the lives of a couple of the main characters. You are then taken back to learn about the summer that brought them there. Some of the situations were never fully explained, as if the author had a genuinely creepy idea and
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Sep 28, 2009
Sharon
rated it:
A pretty solid, creepy coming-of-age story that manages to combine the symptoms of growing up with fear in a pretty effective way. The jacket description isn't entirely accurate: it describes the story as someone being out to kill young boys, but really there is a series of mysterious accidents in a small town that induces a curfew and puts everyone on edge. Within that dread, three twelve-year-old friends, one of which lost his arm to this series of accidents, grow apart, decide to do daring th
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Aug 16, 2009
Lindsey
rated it:
Ok, so first of all, this book sells itself the completely wrong way. I understand that there are some potentially interesting angles that can create buzz amongst readers if you take the ‘boys are mysteriously’ dying pieces and blow them out of proportion. Given the back cover, I was truly expecting I Know What You Did Last Summer, or Scream, but what I got was more like Hearts In Atlantis, and even that movie was scarier than this book. For those of you looking for Goosebumps, this is not your
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May 22, 2011
Stephen
rated it:
I probably would have enjoyed this more had I read it before reading Rotters. Maybe it's not fair for me to compare the two (since they're totally different books), but this one was kind of a letdown. It was very well-written, and it held my interest through to the end, but I just didn't enjoy as much as some of the folks who've reviewed it before me. In fact, I'm even willing to go so far as to say that I don't think I got my money's worth. And I paid less than $5 for my copy.
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I mu More...
Apr 06, 2010
Erin
rated it:
I was hoping this book would be horror, but it wasn't really, despite what the cover looks like. Kind of disturbing and sad? Yes. The book is about the summer of 3 12-year-old boys, a monster who turns out not to be a monster, death, and a terrifying kid who turns out not to be terrifying. There's sort of a mystery in there as well--a kid gets run over by a truck and killed and within the same week a kid loses his arm from being run over by the truck. The 3 boys try to figure out the mystery as
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Jan 01, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Breia "The Brain" Brickey for TeensReadToo.com
The story begins in the present with James, who on his way out of town runs into Reggie. The story then switches to the year when they were twelve.
Most of what you read will be from this year, when one of their friends is hit by someone in a silver truck, causing him to lose his arm. About two months later, another boy is hit and killed by what everyone suspects is the same truck. This leads the parents a More...
The story begins in the present with James, who on his way out of town runs into Reggie. The story then switches to the year when they were twelve.
Most of what you read will be from this year, when one of their friends is hit by someone in a silver truck, causing him to lose his arm. About two months later, another boy is hit and killed by what everyone suspects is the same truck. This leads the parents a More...
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Oct 26, 2009
Nance
rated it: 
The organization of the book was good. I liked the circular nature. I did not feel like the author did a good enough job making the characters relatable. This may be because I am a woman and can’t get into the minds of 12 year old boys. The dialogue in the beginning was a little stilted but eventually, I was able to get into it.
Feb 15, 2010
Alison
rated it:
The author was in many of my filmmaking classes in college. I always liked his work, although we had differing sensibilities.
But this book, this book is really great! Rich and truthful, painful and poignant, page turning and yet deep. Good job, Dan!
But this book, this book is really great! Rich and truthful, painful and poignant, page turning and yet deep. Good job, Dan!
Oct 12, 2009
Patricia
rated it:
Who are the monsters in our lives? Boys in a small town are dying and choices are made that change all of their lives. Mature themes.
Aug 03, 2011
Tori
rated it:
Well written story of three boys and the summer of their 12th year. The characters are well drawn and the book is reminiscent of movies like Stand By Me and the current, Super 8.
Mar 10, 2009
Not quite sure what to make of this. There was some genuinely lovely language in places, but the structure and pacing left me a bit cold.
Apr 11, 2011
carolyn
rated it:
Good. Not as strong or tight as Rotters but I still gobbled it up in a day.
Apr 20, 2010
travelmel
rated it:
More depressing than I usually can put up with this book was interesting and held my attention. This is a mystery about what happens to a group of friends during their childhood. It's a coming of age story about a group of boys in a small town.
It reminded me a little bit of Steven King's, "IT" but not terrifying and not supernatual at all. But it had that feeling of friendship, sadness, belonging/not belonging, etc.
It reminded me a little bit of Steven King's, "IT" but not terrifying and not supernatual at all. But it had that feeling of friendship, sadness, belonging/not belonging, etc.
Feb 21, 2011
Carrie
rated it: 
I couldn't get into this book. It all felt forced. I gave up and didn't finish.
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