The Curse of the Wendigo

Gr 9 Up—From the Canadian wilderness to the streets of New York City, 12-year-old Will Henry accompanies his master, the monstrumologist Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, on another dangerous quest in Rick Yancey's sequel (2010) to The Monstrumologist (2009, both S & S). This time he must disprove the existence of the insatiable, cannibalistic Wendigo and to save the doctor's best friend. Steven Boyer returns to narrate the tale which is every bit as gripping and gruesome as the first. His solid narration of the 19th-century style prose takes listeners through a story that raises philosophical questions even as it produces shudders of disgust. He meets the challenge of several different accents while voicing the main characters, the young and often unsure Will Henry and the enigmatic Dr. Warthrop, with consistency and emotion. Yancey's characters run the gamut of fear, frustration, anger, and grief, and Boyer's performance skillfully captures those emotions. The line between man and monster is again blurred, this time with the addition of myth, but it is the deeply complex relationship between the apprentice and master that will linger long after the nightmarish images have faded.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL