About The Book

Modern Monsters

by Kelley York

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Vic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went…

And wished he hadn’t.

Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same. Plus, now Callie has told the police that Vic is responsible. Suddenly, Invisible Vic is painfully visible, on trial both literally, with the police, and figuratively, with the angry kids at school. As the whispers and violence escalate, he becomes determined to clear his name, even if it means an uneasy alliance with Callie's best friend, the beautiful but aloof Autumn Dixon.

But as Autumn and Vic slowly peel back the layers of what happened at the party, they realize that while the truth can set Vic free, it can also shatter everything he thought he knew about his life…

Review

"Flabbergast (verb used with object) to overcome with surprise and bewilderment; astound" Dictionary.com

This is the word that came to mind as I read the last page of Modern Monsters. Themes within these pages are confronting, real, emotional and raw, so it is not for the faint hearted. Whilst it is still YA-appropriate, it is a very deeply engaging book, one that explores the seriousness of it's main theme, teen rape. However, do not be fooled, it is highly unlikely to be similar to any other books you have read on the topic. 

This book explores this theme three-dimensionally, giving readers the insight not only to the victim's point of view (POV) but also the suspects and eventually the attacker. York deeply explores this theme and does not leave it as a black and white story, she explores in-depth the grey areas, and that's what makes Modern Monsters unique. 

Vic is the main suspect to raping his fellow classmate, Callie at a party that he reluctantly attended. Callie professed that the last face she could recall on the night she got raped was Vic's. As Vic tries to piece the puzzles together, he finds an ally in a very strange place, Autumn, Callie's guilt-ridden best friend. The two soon find out that things and people are not always what they seem to be. 

I really enjoyed the characters, I liked that Callie is not perfect, she was drunk, she could not recall who raped her, she made a mistake in identifying Vic...I just liked the realness of Callie's character. More often than not in stories like these, victims are just that, victims, and the rapists are depicted as nothing more than monsters, but I enjoyed that York provided us with characters that have dimension which made the story more real. 

Vic is a kind-hearted soul and I thoroughly enjoyed his growth through the story. I enjoyed his relationship with Autumn, it was light and innocent which is totally opposite to the darkness that brought them together to begin with. 

Autumn's character is beautiful, she is strong, a friend who would do anything for those that she love and I love the interaction between her and Vic, I really think that she's my favourite character. 

I also liked how Kelley York wrote word definitions throughout the book, as Vic narrates, as that was the one thing he felt he was good at, memorising the meaning of words. That made me feel like I was Vic, which is a really great feat for an Author to have readers feel they are within it's pages, not to mention it added words to my vocabulary. 

Modern Monsters is an engaging and emotional read. I enjoyed so many elements of this story and the plot is absolutely fantastic. Whilst the mystery was not difficult to decipher mid-way, I thoroughly enjoyed the way that the writer allowed the readers to get in depth within the lives of those touched by such crimes. York's main plot was not to point at the direction of prosecution for the attacker, but to let the readers understand what is going on in the lives of not just the victim, but the attacker, suspect and any lives that are touched by such events. The ending will leave a mark and it's definitely an ending that readers will not easily forget. 

The Modern Monsters also has a sub-plot that is just as engaging and interesting as the main plot, and I am very content with how Kelley York ended the story, a lot of times stories are ended disappointingly, but York did a fantastic job in wrapping up all the loose ends in a way that satisfies the readers as they turn the last page. 

About the Author

Kelley York

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