“Spring semester of Bridger Whitt's senior year of high
school is looking great. He has the perfect boyfriend, a stellar best friend,
and an acceptance letter to college. He also has this incredible job as an
assistant to Pavel Chudinov, an intermediary tasked with helping cryptids
navigate the modern world. His days are filled with kisses, laughs, pixies, and
the occasional unicorn. Life is awesome. But as graduation draws near,
Bridger's perfect life begins to unravel. Uncertainties about his future
surface, his estranged dad shows up out of nowhere, and, perhaps worst of all,
a monster-hunting television show arrives in town to investigate the series of
strange events from last fall. The show's intrepid host will not be deterred,
and Bridger finds himself trapped in a game of cat and mouse that could very
well put the myth world at risk. Again.”
In the sequel to The Rules and Regulations For Mediating
Myths and Magic, author F.T. Lukens Monster of the Week continues the quirky,
often funny weird life of Bridger Whitt. Still, while as good and readable as
the first book, MOW does not reinvent the formula, but Lukens is able to poke
fun at reality TV series that air on cable (like Monster V Man came to mind)
and remind everyone that lives of teenagers in modern life is just as
complicated as always. Bridger remains a well developed character, a
wisecracking, smart-mouth teen who still has a ton of insecurities –especially with
his burgeoning relationship with Leo- but who can mistakes.
The book has a lot of subplots (which becomes a problem as the book goes on),
but the main story involves Summer Lore (which I hoped was not her real name,
but a stage name due to her series. It just too much of convenience for me) and her desire to prove that the myth world
was real and not just some careful editing, crafty camera tricks, and open
ended questions. She’s not very three dimensional, but she is the “villain” of
the story. And if there is one drawback to the book, is because Lukens spends a
huge amount of time dealing with Bridger’s family problems, issues with the
LGBT, and the end of his time in High School, the Summer Lore aspect gets the
short stick here.
While the universe of this book series is great for teens
who are LGBT –everyone supports and loves bisexual Bridger and gay Leo (along
with a few lesbian characters)- it does not shy away from Bridger’s fathers
homophobia when learning his 18 year-old son is in a relationship with another
male. I could’ve done with more meat to this part of the story –Dad is portrayed
realistic I think- but at least Lukens didn’t resolve Bridger and his Dad’s relationship
in any easy way.
I get the impression that this will be the last book, but I
hope Lukens decides to continue writing new stories for Bridger and his
friends. There was already a Scooby-Doo vibe to these two books, but with
everyone heading off to college, it might be fun to see them become a full
Scooby gang.
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