Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell will be impossible for middle grade readers to resist. First, the subject matter of fantastical creatures is so compelling for this age of readers. Second, there are strong, resilient, and likeable male and female characters. Third, the pacing is practically scorching. In a format that evolves into what is ultimately a quest, things move quickly from step to step in the process, facilitated by brief chapters that never linger too long on any one scene. The only downside to this is the narrative almost seemed rushed at points and sometimes felt like a checklist of trials to experience; however, a younger reader will have no complaints.

This book is a curious mix for a middle grade book. It is linear in the telling, but has some more advanced vocabulary and at the end it does turn philosophical. Also, there are some pretty sad moments in the book which might be a bit hard for a young reader’s heart to take. This lends the book to probably being best for a slightly older middle grade reader, perhaps 4th grade and up.

With beautiful illustrations throughout, this novel would make a fun and fabulous read-aloud. The map in the front of the book is outstanding, and the illustrated bestiary in the appendix may be the real treasure in this book. It is where the author’s humor, creativity, and voice really sparkle.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 2 mild obscenities; 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore: Attempted murder of a child; reports of scrapes, bruises, injuries; reports that creatures are dying and girl finds and buries one; knife attack by a man on an old woman and a child with a struggle involving an axe, mention of blood, and death of a relative; pursuit with intent to do harm; verbal threats; fight between two children and an adult using knife and other objects, knocking of one individual unconscious; attack by a creature that destroys property, inflicts injuries, and kills one; destruction of property, no injuries; blood from using a needle to sew; scene in which a dragon is seen roasting and eating animals; brief fist fight with punching, hitting, biting, kicking, grabbing hair, etc.; attempted kidnapping; attempted murder, struggle with a knife, hitting choking, mention of blood, death of a creature and a person by knife wound; report someone killed others for gain; fight and killing of creatures with sword and knife; character is injured and poisoned in a fight; fighting of creatures by shooting arrows; creature burns another creature; traps that are meant to kill; character attacked in the dark by a creature it can’t see, injuries; character goes to their death taking someone with them in an act of sacrifice, no details.

Sex/Nudity: Man and woman regard each other often and later it is said that they are in love; in the appendix it talks about a mythical creature that spurned its owner’s male fiancé and led her to her maidservant who she married instead; a girl and boy are good friends–at one point she kisses him on the cheek and at another point he thinks about how he loves her–some readers might interpret the interaction as romance-based, but this interaction is very minor and most reader’s will view it as platonic love as part of their friendship.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death, murder, assassin, attempted murder, immortality, ethics, betrayal, death of a family member, death of animals/creatures, same-sex marriage (mention only in the appendix).

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Adults drink wine; adults and children are sitting in a tavern where there is drinking; reference to a character being drunk; man smells of alcohol; man gets drunk.