The Monster Sisters and the Mystery of the Unlocked Cave

Gr 4-6–Enid Jupiter and Lyra Gotham, the Monster Sisters, are rabble-rousing, smart-talking kids determined to save their hometown, Victoria, British Columbia, from an influx of creatures. Gaudin, a comics shop owner and comics creator based in Victoria, created the Monster Sisters to celebrate his own fearless daughters. In this series starter, the heroes use their knowledge of local history, a variety of creative gadgets, and their quick wits to rescue their comics collection and defeat the enormous Monster X. Enid and Lyra make a great team who play to each other’s strengths and protect each other in the direst of circumstances. The art is engaging and fun, with full-page monster attacks, action-packed vine swinging, a section on Morse code, and plenty of cool maps. Gaudin makes great use of the paneling to show the girls’ boundless energy. However, the author-illustrator inserts himself into the narrative in ways that may be too sophisticated for younger readers to enjoy. Likewise, some of the Canadian history is clumsily integrated into the story. The tale’s resolution is mostly written narration delivered by the Perogy Cat, a character from a different Gaudin series—an anticlimactic ending for such intrepid characters in their first big adventure.