Man Made Monsters is an anthology with a unique twist – all of the stories follow the same Cherokee family between the mid 1800s and the 2030s. The narrator of each story is a teenager living in a particular time, whether it’s during World War II, the 70s, or even now. Each story has a paranormal or science fiction element, but most of the stories have different creatures in them. You’ll find werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghosts (including a ghost cat!), a creepy memory machine, and more.
I loved this book for a couple of reasons. First, it is full of Cherokee language and heritage. There is a glossary in the back, so if you get stuck on a word, that word is likely something you can look up. The heritage part is not always pretty. The book very much addresses the boarding schools that Indigenous youth were placed in. I also really liked following the timeline, because there is a family tree at the beginning of the book. The family tree isn’t linear. You won’t be following the same direct descendants all of the time. However, you can see how the current narrator of a story is related to the previous narrator of a story, and I thought that was awesome.
I definitely recommend giving Man Made Monsters a try if you’re looking for something fun and spooky. Not all of the stories are happy, but the book is set up in such a fun way.
Darcy Lepore, Library Director