Damien Love delivers a beautiful work of fantasy in his debut novel, Monstrous Devices. Alex and his grandfather travel a path of adventure centered around a toy robot and the secrets that it holds. This story will resonate with children, since what child would not enjoy a cross-continent trip with their grandparent?

The story is told from Alex’s point of view, and the author successfully captures the sense of bewilderment of a child being thrust into a mystery without making the character seem overly naive. Alex’s grandfather has a depth of characterization that allows him to provide comic relief through his dry sense of humor in some scenes and wise counsel in a serious manner in other scenes and make both equally believable.

The book has enough action to keep young readers interested, even though it is a little on the long side for a children’s book. The length is definitely justified, though, as the book does not have any pieces that are unnecessary. The story takes the characters across Europe, and each change of setting imparts cultural, mythical, and historical tidbits about the region through which they travel. These facts are worked into the narrative and are not intrusive, so the reader will learn without realizing that they are being taught. The pieces of this story work together as seamlessly as the gears of the masterfully-created robots that fill its pages.

Review of an Advanced Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Viking Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  8 religious exclamations; 2 mild obscenities; 1 religious profanity.

Note:  “God” is used in reference to the divine entity several times (not tallied).

Violence/Gore: A scene in which weapons are drawn but the scene cuts before violence occurs; characters threaten another character online; a character accidentally cuts their hand (two times); a fight between kids and an adult, with no serious injuries; report of a child stabbed; report of prior bullying; fight between characters and robots, with no major injury; a couple of discussions of pieces of humans being used in magic rituals (no details); a couple of characters are knocked out and bound; a child is locked in a small room with unconscious villains, hoping they don’t wake; a character draws his own blood for unknown purpose; a couple of characters have cuts and scars from previous self-harm; a television show caption references cheating in a relationship; a residence is ransacked; a few fights involving characters and robots, using blunt and bladed weapons and resulting in non-serious cuts and bruises only; characters are threatened with guns a few times; brief fight with punches and kicks; fight involving humans and robots where a character is cut and beaten and a character falls to their death (the fall is not graphic); creepy scene in which characters and robots stalk another character; teens kiss and hug and gaze into each other’s eyes; blood from previous violence is discovered; a character is choked, with no lasting injury; spooky scene in which a character waits for something to emerge from the darkness; mention of past property damage and killings; fight between characters with no major injuries; blood is poured into a container, not in a medical setting; car chase and fight resulting in minor injury; mention of past accidental death; a couple of mentions of many people killed in the past; scene where one character is thrown across the room and another burned badly; a corpse is discovered; a train is destroyed with passengers injured and blood mentioned; extended scene (10 pages) with property damage, a monster, and people attacking each other in a riot setting (none of this violence is graphic); buildings, cars, and streetlights are destroyed in a city; character has a couple of non-detailed visions of death; character kicks another repeatedly; a couple of characters drown; a bully hits another teen.

Sex/Nudity:  A TV show caption mentions cheating in a relationship; teenagers kiss and hug and gaze into each other’s eyes.

Mature Subject Matter:

Theft, bullying, death of a loved one.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Adults drink champagne, wine, and liquor; an adult smokes cigarettes; vintage toys feature figures smoking and drinking beer; adult characters are drunk (mentioned in passing).