Description

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A moving middle-grade novel about unlikely friendships and facing our fears—or monsters!—perfect for fans of of Wendy Mass's and Rebecca Stead’s Bob.

“Monstrously magical and delicious!”—William Alexander, National Book Award Winner for Goblin Secrets

"A heartfelt tale of meeting your monsters and setting them free." —Linda Urban, acclaimed author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect

On the edge of town, a boy named Dawz lives with his sister and their uncle-turned-adoptive-father, Pop. No one in their ramshackle house knows that a monster—who is smaller than a bear cub—lives in Dawz’s bedroom closet. She calls herself Mim. 

When a series of events forces Mim to leave her closet, she sets out on a quest to unlock the magic of books, but will Dawz be willing to help her? 

The story of a monster who desperately wants to be seen and the reluctant boy who wishes he weren’t the only one who could, this exploration of found family, fear and mental health, and intergenerational trauma begs the question: What if the monsters that haunt us aren’t monsters at all?

About the Author

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Karen Krossing wrote comics and poetry as a kid and dreamed of becoming a published writer. Today she is the author of many books for young readers, including picture books Sour Cakes and One Tiny Bubble and novels Bog, Cut the Lights, and Punch Like a Girl. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and regularly teaches writing workshops.

Praise For…

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A boy wrestles with seeing a monster who shouldn’t be real and with finding a sense of belonging.
Morsh’s reputation for once having been home to monsters forms the heart of the town’s booming tourism market. For 11-year-old Dawz, these supposedly mythical creatures are a painful reminder of the monster-obsessed mom who left him and younger sister Jayla to be adopted by their maternal uncle, Pop. (The children have different fathers, but their mother refused to disclose their identities.) Dawz dreams of winning a local baking competition, like Pop before him; baking is a special passion they share. But when he discovers Mim, a small monster with gray fur and purple scales living in his bedroom closet, he worries that makes him weird—like his mom. Mim is struggling with changes, too. She doesn’t remember a time before the closet, but she’s growing larger—and despite her trepidation, she is pulled to explore the world outside this dark, dusty haven. Dawz and Mim discover they have a bond, and they both struggle with learning to accept themselves. In this thoughtful story that deals with serious topics but is lightened by humor, Krossing expertly navigates what it’s like to be young and unsure of yourself through the protagonists’ character arcs. Jayla and Dawz have different skin tones from one another and Pop, who is cued White; their multiracial family is described as “a mismatched crew.”
A moving tale of learning to accept yourself, flaws and all. 

—Kirkus Reviews