MONSTER TREE

A young boy mourning the loss of his father confronts a terrifying tree.

Art always bonded seventh grader Linus Hyde to his painter father. When Linus’ dad realized his son had color blindness, he introduced him to charcoals, and Linus delighted in the shades of gray he could create. When Dad dies unexpectedly, Linus feels he can no longer draw and barely touches his beloved supplies for nearly a year. He and his mom move into a new house, and he spies a creepy-looking tree in neighbor Maude’s yard. With the help of friends Abby and Spencer, Linus investigates a possible connection between the tree, a series of disappearances, and Maude. It turns out that art may be the only thing that can save them. Allen’s examination of grief and rage situated amid very real horror conjures genuine scares as emotions manifest both positively and negatively. Anxious, impulsive, and introspective Linus’ journey of self-actualization and self-preservation is both accessible and visceral, culminating in a thrilling tale of healing. While some aspects of the plot feel somewhat underdeveloped, the scares ratchet up unrelentingly in a page-turning frenzy as Linus fights to save himself, his town, and his family. Linus and Abby (who wears hearing aids) present white, and Spencer is cued Black.

A searing exploration of the intersection of grief and horror.