As one of those people who used to wait for a new episode of Buffy every week, because binge watching a whole season at once was not a thing back then, All These Monsters has kind of thrown me back in time to those last couple of seasons when there was a team fighting evil. Mix it up with The Maze Runner and you get a picture what awaits you in Amy Tintera’s latest book.
Diverse and action-packed, All These Monsters follows 17-year-old Clara, whose only wish is to escape her abusive father and mother, who never did anything to stop him. She finally has her chance when Grayson St. John, CEO of St. John Technologies, announces that he is forming a private fighting squad against scrabs, the monsters who have invaded earth.
Literally running for her life, she hops on a bus which takes her to the tryouts. After making it into the squad, her team is sent to Europe. Clara is finally free from her past, but must face other monsters, which are not as obvious as she first thought.
With not knowing Tintera’s previous work, I did not know what to expect from the plot and I have to say, I was even sceptical how this idea of a story will turn out. Except for one thing, I was not disappointed.
The book is full of diverse characters who all get their fair share in the spotlight, with badass females who save the day. You start to root for them all, while also fearing for their lives. Focusing on Clara, you can see her character develop and become independent with every situation she is facing. At first, she is the girl who runs away from her past, with no money and not knowing anyone. She quickly gets recognised for her fighting skills by her team leader, Julian, who feeds her when he finds out that she is coming to training hungry. Despite that, Clara can take care of herself on her own. She forms friendships and alliances, which is something she never knew she would have.
It is forbidden to start a romantic relationship with your team leader, but it was soon obvious that Julian feels more towards Clara. I am not sure if Clara ever felt the same way about Julian, even just a tiny bit. I guess she was overwhelmed by the fact that people see her and are interested in her. However, from that moment on, things got complicated and the focus shifted from fighting scrabs to an unhealthy relationship.
For such a strong character Clara has become, to get tangled up with someone who quickly showed his aggressive side, made me want to scream. She just escaped one abuser, to fall into the hands of another and become like her mother. God help her! Afterwards, reflecting on the book, it may be necessary for the story to evolve and to set the path for the second book in this duology.
In such a complex world, Tintera has created there is much to explore. I am excited to get to know how the story will continue and what will happen with the team.
All These Monsters is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 7th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Clara is ready to fight back. Fight back against her abusive father, fight back against the only life she’s ever known, and most of all, fight back against scrabs, the earth-dwelling monsters that are currently ravaging the world. So when an opportunity arises for Clara to join an international monster-fighting squad, she jumps at the chance.
When Clara starts training with her teammates, however, she realizes what fighting monsters really means: sore muscles, exhaustion, and worst of all, death. Scrabs are unpredictable, violent, and terrifying. But as Clara gains confidence in her battle skills, she starts to realize scrabs might not be the biggest evil. The true monsters are the ones you least expect.
