Overall, I think this book had an interesting story and likable characters. The real adventure felt like it was starting at maybe ¼ to ⅓ of the way in, and I was really intrigued as to where it was going. After that was where it fell apart for me a bit. It felt like there was this buildup and a reveal about the hometown that led to some more serious stakes, but then it just kind of comes to a halt. I understand that there needs to be worldbuilding and introduction of new characters, but the length of this section made it feel like there was no urgency in the situation, and instead just meandered around for too long without learning more about the predicament that was the catalyst of it all. I think the story would have been better served if there was more actual plot while exploring the world instead of just time waiting around. And on top of that, the whole quest didn’t actually become official until around halfway through. These pacing issues made it a bit of a slower read for me. Especially since it’s a children’s book, I expected it to keep my attention better.

But other than the pacing, the world did pique my interest. It was a bit Dungeons and Dragons-ish in some ways, but not in a way that would be off-putting to someone who didn’t care for role playing games. It just loosely follows the structure of that genre - there is a quest, the kids group up to follow said quest, they each have distinct and specific roles to fulfill along the way, and they come across monsters that they need to fight.

My favorite character was Jeep. I appreciated that there was some intrigue around her, and that her origins added a secondary mystery. The Monster Club characters had varied personalities, but I didn’t feel as much as an attachment to them since they were just absent from the story for a while and then didn’t seem entirely necessary to the whole thing, even though it was hinted at that they would have some importance that I didn’t think came to fruition. I also was a bit disappointed with the conclusion of the quest, since that wasn’t really explained. There was a specific problem that needed to be solved, which kept getting discussed throughout the book, but it ends up that the solution to this just occurs in the background. We don't see how or why it worked at all, and so all of the talk leading up to it just seemed like superfluous speculation. I did like the journey, which was why the conclusion felt lackluster instead of the epic climax I was expecting. Still, it was a decently enjoyable read. It was fun to get introduced to various types of creatures and compare their mythology to ones the characters already knew. So, even though I wanted to like this one more, I’d give it 3.5/5 stars.