Reviewed by Lynn Goodwin
Posted on: March 28, 2023
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Twelve-year-old Sam starts doing research on the habits and behaviors of monsters and lists the facts: “Fact #1: Most people don’t know they exist.” Do we all have monsters living inside of us? If not monsters, are there bad angels or negativity gremlins interrupting us? If you said no, Sandra L. Rostirolla’s Making Friends with Monsters might change your mind.
Sam lives in Australia, where drought ravages the country and is destroying his family’s farm. At the beginning of the story, six-year-old Abby fights to save the life of Lambert, a sick lamb who is supposed to be livestock and not a pet. Things get much worse, though, when Sam fills in for his older brother, Ben, who refuses to help his dad on a neighbor’s ranch. A freak accident leaves him devastated, and he must find a way to cope.
With help from a biker named Cliff, who’s been through a similar tragedy, he gains perspective on both his accident and his monster. In fact he discovers that everyone has one. It’s good to be able to name that gremlin living in all of us. Cliff’s monster has been tamed—more or less—and he helps Sam increase his coping and success skill. This story provides role models for those coping with grief, loss, stress, and dysfunctional environments.
By continuing to discover facts about his own monster and the monsters in his family, Sam starts to understand what is and is not within his control. Here are some of the facts he’s discovered:
• “If we let them get too hungry, they can swallow us whole.”
• “When it comes to age, they don’t discriminate.”
• “They can turn on you at a moment’s notice.
• “There’s usually a good reason why they break out of their cage.”
• “More often than not, their default emotion is anger.”
Ultimately, Sam realizes, “The only thing we can do is learn to live with them, and for that to happen, we need to make friends with them.” It’s a mature discovery, but during the year, he’s been through an excessive amount of tragedy.
Some of the best YA books look at adult problems through the eyes of a young person, and Making Friends with Monsters achieves this with skill and high stakes. This book offers hope to anyone who’s ever felt out of place or thought their family was dysfunctional. It’s also an outstanding book for anyone who’d rather find solutions than live with their problems. It carries a strong message for adults and teens troubled by anger, envy, depression, or fear or elevated by the joy of handling these issues. Pick up a copy and see for yourself.
