Monsterland by Michael Okon {YA Book Review}

Disclosure: I received this book to review through iRead Book Tours, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

When world markets are decimated by a crippling plague, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, Vincent Konrad decides to place monsters in a theme park setting to promote education and tolerance. Copper Valley is chosen as the primary site for the park in the United States.

Wyatt Baldwin, a high school senior is dying to go to the opening and when he lands special passes to the park, he and his friends are expecting the experience of a lifetime.

After all, in a theme park where real zombies, werewolves, and vampires are the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?

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First things first – this book was rated PG-13 to M due to “some violence, blood and gore”. Honestly, for me anyway, the book did get a little frightening. It is definitely a book I would recommend for the “older” YA crowd. (I did give it to my 11 year old son to read, but have definitely been having second thoughts about him reading it… Be your own judge. You know your young adult better than I do!)

Now, the important part!

I am slightly embarrassed to admit how much I really, truly enjoyed this book.

I enjoy the paranormal – the zombies, the vampires, the weres, the faes. Those kinds of books are enjoyable to me so having a book that includes the paranormal already gives it a step up in my opinion.

The chapters take on a different view – a teenage boy; a stepfather trying to step up as “dad” to a couple of teenage boys; a vampire; a werewolf; a zombie; a Doctor. Each has their own view of what is going on and in short, what is going on is that the Doctor has created an amusement park – Monsterland – where every day, atypical people can go in and see monsters in a “safe” environment.

My daughter said it was kind of like a Barnum & Bailey amusement park. (We may have seen The Greatest Showmen a few too many times!)

I think one of the things that I liked best about the story was the different viewpoints – especially when you were reading the views of the vampire, werewolf, and zombie. It was a view that doesn’t often get shared in stories.

All in all, the book was definitely suspenseful, thrilling, and a great read. I had it done in two days because I wanted to keep going to see what all was going to come of this new amusement park. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed and look forward to reading the second installment – Monsterland Reanimated.

About the Author
Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English, and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.

Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

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