Malamander – A Must-Read New Middle-Grade Book

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“If the impossible is possible anywhere, it’ll be possible in Eerie-on-Sea”

Welcome to the sleepy beach town of Eerie-on-Sea. It is winter, and everything is different during the winter. You see, legend has it that a monstrous creature called the Malamander prowls the shore of the beach in winter. Everyone has heard the legend of the Malamander. Everyone, including Herbie Lemon, one of Eerie-on-Sea’s full-time residents.

Herbie is the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus hotel and he is in charge of all of the things left behind by hotel guests…books, coats, babies…that sort of thing. One day, a young girl wanders into his hotel…actually, it would be more like she frantically climbed through an open window in the hotel to escape a crazed man with a boat hook for a hand. Violet Parma is in search of her parents who went missing when she was a baby. Herbie is the perfect guy for the job, as finding lost things is his specialty.

Together, Violet and Herbie must unravel the mystery behind her parents’ mysterious disappearance, and in the process uncover a lot more than they expected! Over the course of their adventures, they will encounter the man with the hook for a hand (again), a book-dispensing Mermonkey (oh yes, that is a thing), and maybe, just maybe, the infamous Malamander (maybe).

A Must-Read

Malamander is everything that I love in a middle-grade novel! It is full of mystery, suspense, humor, and quirky characters. Author Thomas Taylor transports his readers right into Eerie-on-Sea…you can almost feel the mist in the air and the creepy things lurking in the shadows. I have to say, one of my favorite parts of the book are the zany and loveable characters he has created. I want to be the plucky Mrs. Fossil when I grow up…although, come to think of it, I might already be Mrs. Fossil. Filling buckets with treasures from the beach is pretty much my favorite thing. I also would love to spend the day with Mrs. Hanniver at the Eerie-Book-Dispensary and see which book the Mermonkey would dispense to me!

This would be an amazing read-aloud for your middle-grade kiddos! I can’t wait to visit Eerie-on-Sea again in the next book in the series, Gargantis! I also loved the illustrations that were scattered throughout the book. Illustrator, Tom Booth’s drawings are the perfect complement to the book!

For an interview with author Thomas Taylor, you can check this site!

Sending a big thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book to review and share with you! All opinions are my own.

You can grab your copy of Malamander below!