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Thursday, June 7, 2018

Review: Curse of the Werewolf Boy (Maudlin Towers #1) by Chris Priestly




Curse of the Werewolf Boy  
(Maudlin Towers #1) 
by Chris Priestley 
July 10, 2018 
Bloomsbury Children's Books 
Source: ARC from pub 

Mildew and Sponge don’t think much of Maudlin Towers, the blackened, gloom-laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity that is their school. But when somebody steals the School Spoon and the teachers threaten to cancel their holiday break until the culprit is found, our heroes must spring into action and solve the crime! 

But what starts out as a classic bit of detectivating quickly becomes weirder than they could have imagined. Who is the ghost in the attic? What’s their history teacher doing with a time machine? And why do a crazy bunch of Vikings seem to think Mildew is a werewolf? 

This brand-new series from Chris Priestley, full of delightfully original wit, is perfect for young readers who like their mysteries with a bit of bite. 


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Maudlin Towers is a gloomy, doomy kind of place, which makes it the perfect place for a school for boys...although its students may disagree. When the sacred School Spoon is stolen, two of those students, Mildew and Sponge, discover that their seemingly predictable school is anything but! Mildew and Sponge's detectivating takes weirder and weirder turns as they stumble upon several time-twisty, maybe ghost infested, possibly werewolfish, makes your head confuzzled mysteries. 

Chris Priestley's Curse of the Werewolf Boy is a truly laugh-out-loud and wild start to what is sure to be an entertaining middle-grade series. Priestley conjures up a wickedly clever and witty voice, a topsy-turvy plot that is wackadoodle in the best and most fun way possible, and two oddball, yet totally endearing heroes.  

Despite its grim, gloomy exterior and dull surroundings, there's something wonderfully delightful about Maudlin Towers and its creeptastic atmosphere. Possible ghosts, time hoppingVikings, werewolf encounters, even some mushy romance...Priestley fits all this and more into Curse of the Werewolf Boy and does so in the most unexpected and awesomely outrageous ways. And of course, Curse of the Werewolf Boy's cast of characters is just as kooky and oddly charming as its setting and roller-coaster plot. Readers will get a kick out of the various over-the-top teachers and students, and Mildew and Sponge make for a quirky, lovable pair. 

Young readers will have a blast joining Mildew and Sponge on their adventures and will find Priestley's wry, ironic, whimsically dark humor (reminiscent of Lemony Snicket books or Tim Burton movies) highly amusing and refreshing. 

MY RATING
4/5 Cupcakes


Chris Priestley has found great success with his marvellously macabre stories for young readers. He is the author of the chilling and brilliant Tales of Terror series, the haunting The Dead of Winter and the fantastically frightening Mister Creecherto name but a few. He is also a talented artist and illustrator. His cartoons have been published in the Independent and other national newspapers. Chris lives in Cambridge, where he continues to write his seriously scary stories.  
To find out more about Chris, visit his blog or follow him on Facebook. 

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