SCOUT'S HONOR

Typical Ladybird Scout activities: knitting, baking, white-gloved tea parties—and slaying invisible monsters.

Anderson pits a squad of preteen Northern California trainees and their 16-year-old instructor, Prudence, against mulligrubs—gross, sometimes-dangerous creatures only Ladybirds or, sometimes, their descendants can see that are drawn to this dimension to intensify and feed on anger, sadness, fear, and other feelings. Prue, who has PTSD and quit the Scouts three years ago after her closest circle mate was eaten, has been railroaded by her Ladybird Dame mom into filling in the latest batch of bright-eyed recruits on the basics of martial arts and proper deportment. As she leads them through projects ranging from rooting a toxic Nock Jaw out of a working fun house to setting up a free car wash, she reluctantly finds herself bonding with them. A climactic nighttime graveyard battle with a huge mulligrub eager to feast on her terror and anxieties brings her to the cusp of a decision. The metaphorical level is there for readers inclined to dig for it, but they, particularly the Buffy fans among them, will be better off reveling in the whirl of teen angst and ichor-spattered fun. Led by Prue, who is White and Puerto Rican, and her BFF Sasha “the Beast” Nezhad, cued as Persian, the cast displays an effervescent mix of racial and ethnic identities and character types from meek to (truly) mean girl.

Anyone with a yen for community service, particularly the martial sort, will be hot to sign up.