Image & description from goodreads.com
Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.
As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.
As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.
My Thoughts:
I love the fact that this book appeals to several different audiences. Especially the 12 & up, girls AND boys dynamic. My daughter (12 yrs. old) isn't into "girly" books. She's going to love this book. It's got a snarky 14 year old that speaks the native language of teenager. It's full of adventure and Jack's reactions to what is happening to him are realistic. Characters that you can relate to are more fun to read about. In the beginning of the book Jack breaks the fourth wall to warn us about reading the book and being a possible cry baby. HAHA, love it! The other characters in the book are great support for Jack as well. Eva is an extremely strong female presence in the story that balances out all the boys and their nonsense. The whole story focuses on Jack finding out what and who he is so I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens. This book is a fairly quick read for an avid reader.
For ages 12 & up
Mild violence and a lot of monster descriptions
No bad language or sexual content
Hi - thanks for the great review! I really appreciate it!
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