Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language: Swearing and profanity used frequently throughout. Jacob is referred to as “Special Ed,” Jacob mentions holding up his middle finger a couple of times. Jacob says to his friend Ricky, “do I look like I blow truckers for food stamps?”

Violence: Jacob mentions that he is afraid to find his grandfather “running naked in the street, wielding a hunting rifle, foaming at the mouth on the front lawn, or lying in wait with a blunt object in his hand. Being devoured by alligators.” Several murdered bodies/animals are described in great detail. Multiple references to weapons and their uses. The children bring a dead, rotting corpse to life. The end of the novel includes extreme fighting and gun violence.

Sexual Content:  Emma and Jacob flirt and kiss on a couple of occasions. Jacob comes across Hugh and Fiona who are “snogging” in the garden. Jacob goes swimming in his underwear.

Adult Themes: Pictures throughout the book are quite disturbing. Birth control is mentioned. Jacob’s friend, Ricky, smokes and dips tobacco. Jacob refers to drunken friends. He calls his cousins “potheads.”  Drinking beer and wine is mentioned. The characters encounter dead bodies on several occasions. Pain killers are mis-used at the end of the book. The grandfather’s children assume that he had an extra-marital affair.

Synopsis

Jacob grows up listening to strange stories from his grandfather’s childhood in Europe during WWII. After his unexpected passing, Jacob, who was very close to his grandfather, struggles to come to terms with his death. Jacob and his father decide to take a trip to the island in Wales where his grandfather grew up, hoping to help Jacob deal with the death. While on the island, Jacob begins discovering that all the stories he was told by his grandfather were true. He learns about his grandfather’s past, as well as his unique connection to him.

Jacob discovers that all the monsters his grandfather always spoke of are now following him. He bands together with the children from his grandfather’s childhood to fight off the monsters and save other peculiar children.

I definitely enjoyed this book. It is full of mysteries and surprises that kept me glued to the book. I felt the beginning was a bit confusing, however I managed to get into it and then could not put it down. The only thing that annoyed me was the frequent use of profane language.

Thanks to Quirk Books for supplying a review copy.