Beast

February 1, 2020
Thirteen-year-old Adam feels compelled to uncover the mystery of his parents' disappearance, even if it means facing a monster. An accident on a forested Florida road late at night leaves Adam in the hospital and his parents missing. Adam saw what his father swerved to avoid but can't believe it: a massive, manlike beast. He tells the police, which leads to a newspaper article, but the official search for his parents is fruitless. Still, Adam can't stop thinking about both accident and beast. Taken in by his uncle, Adam's suspended from his new school on his first day for fighting about the newspaper article. He finds reports online of other sightings, one fairly close by, and hikes overnight to learn more from the man who spied it. The man's intensity scares Adam off, but Adam's a hunter and comfortable in the outdoors, so he equips himself and heads into the wilderness to find answers. After a harrowing trek and near starvation, Adam discovers the terrifying truth behind the legends. Readers will identify with Everykid Adam, who finds he can't trust what he's always been told about the world. Walking a fine line between the fantastic and the realistic, Key creates a scary, page-turning adventure spun from his own experience (set forth in an author's note). Characters are assumed white. This compelling cryptid fantasy has its big feet planted firmly in realistic survival fiction. (Fantasy. 8-14)

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April 1, 2020

Gr 5 Up-Adam Parks remembers seeing something in the road that night and despite the policeman's suggestion, it definitely was not a bear. After a car crash leaves Adam in the hospital and his parents missing, presumably dead, the news reports that he saw a Sasquatch and his lucidity is now in question. Adam, not even knowing what a Sasquatch is, looks it up online and finds hundreds of hits with descriptions of "Bigfoot'"and "Sasquatch." Off to prove himself, Adam takes off into the black snake and alligator waters of Suwanee River in search of the mysterious creatures and proof that he is right. There, Adam finds an answer and learns that the secrets of the Suwanee are more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. The heavy topics of losing parents and graphic descriptions of eating from dead carcasses may make this title appropate for an older middle grade audience. VERDICT As with all of Keys's amazing books, give this to the reluctant reader seeking an outdoors adventure or to someone who loves survivalist fiction.-Stephanie Wilkes, Good Hope Middle School, West Monroe, LA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2020
Grades 3-6 Adam disappeared in the Suwannee River swamp for two months, and when he resurfaced, he had lost his parents (to a car accident), his friends (after moving away to live with his reclusive uncle John), and his sanity (convinced that the car crashed because of a large, inky, fur-covered cryptid). As the police, his new classmates, and the community question Adam about the swamp apes, he discovers a community of paranormal researchers who describe sightings of a similar creature. Key's adrenaline-packed story chops through palm fronds with a machete, trudges through soul-sucking mangrove mud, and struggles to breathe above the merciless, snake- and alligator-infested currents of adventure as Adam, armed with supplies and a stolen boat, revisits the site of his parents' accident to track the Bigfoot. While Key deftly crafts a riveting story, the narration feels too adult to be reflective of a 13-year-old explorer. Nonetheless, this will provide readers with a thrilling journey of determination, ideal for fans of Hatchet (1987), by Gary Paulsen, as well as Call of the Wild.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)