Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter

Description

Scarlett Hart is the last of a long line of monster hunters, and this stubborn young orphan is determined to carry on her dead parents' work even if she's too young to be licensed by the monster hunters union. With the help of her loyal butler and a lot of awesome gadgets, Scarlett is out to slay monsters-and to take down the corrupt monster hunter who killed her parents! In a departure from the intense, literary teen fiction for which he is best known, Marcus Sedgwick has turned his pen to middle-grade adventure storytelling. Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter, with Thomas Taylor (known for his illustrations in the British editions of Harry Potter) on the art, is a joyous, goofy, and above-all sincere adventure in the tone of Tintin, Nancy Drew, and classic kids' adventure comics of the 1940s.

Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in Kent in South East England, but now lives in the French Alps. His books have won and been shortlisted for many awards; most notably, he has been shortlisted for Britain's Carnegie Medal six times, has received two Printz Honors, for Revolver and Ghosts of Heaven, and in 2013 won the Printz Award for Midwinterblood. Thomas Taylor is an award-winning British author and illustrator. He was the cover artist for the UK edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Following this he wrote and illustrated many picture books, as well as the Dan and the Dead series, and a YA novel, Haunters.

Sedgwick's story and Taylor's images work well together to create an immersive experience... Young readers will find Scarlett aspirational. She's brave, but not unafraid. She's bold, but not arrogant. --New York Times The weapons, gadgets, catchphrases, and nondescript Victorian setting will appeal to fans of the steampunk genre, [Scarlett Hart] will likely appeal to comic fans as a bridge between Scooby-Doo! and Paul Pope's "Battling Boy."--School Library Journal A cliff-hanger ending, along with a handful of secrets about Scarlett's parents left unexplained, hopefully means there's a sequel yet to come. This solid middle-grade caper is perfect for fans of Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller's Nightmares! series.--Booklist Monster hunt after monster hunt keeps the story whizzing along nicely, with plot developments and revelations sprinkled throughout in a rollicking manner. Rough and scrappy, Taylor's illustrations convey ghoulish cool with subtle aplomb...--Kirkus Sedgwick and Taylor's story unfolds in lively action sequences, and the banter between Scarlett and Napoleon provides humorous interludes.--Publishers Weekly