A Monster Like Me

by Wendy S. Swore

Overview

There are trolls, goblins, and witches. Which kind of monster is Sophie?

Sophie is a monster expert. Thanks to her Big Book of Monsters and her vivid imagination, Sophie can identify the monsters in her school and neighborhood. Clearly, the bullies are trolls and goblins. Her nice neighbor must be a good witch, and Sophie’s new best friend is obviously a fairy. But what about Sophie? She’s convinced she is definitely a monster because of the “monster mark” on her face. At least that’s what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumor. Sophie tries to hide it but it covers almost half her face. And if she’s a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too.

Being the new kid at school is hard. Being called a monster is even harder. Sophie knows that it’s only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mom figure it out. And then her mom will probably leave—just like her dad did.

Because who would want to live with a real monster?

Inspired by real events in the author’s life, A Monster Like Me teaches the importance of believing in oneself, accepting change, and the power of friendship.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629725550
Publisher:	Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Wendy S. Swore and her family are farmers. She writes part-time, particularly in winter when her farming chores give her time to plant seeds in her imagination. She is a member of SCBWI. This is her debut novel. 

Editorial Reviews

"In Wendy S. Swore’s tender A Monster Like Me, the imaginative grade schooler battles isolation and bullying to discover that growing stronger sometimes means realizing that there’s more to life than meets the eye. Strikes a careful balance, depicting realistic cruelties in everyday encounters like schoolyard name-calling. Sophie’s shame and unease are rendered with heartrending clarity. Other characters, including a man disfigured in combat, serve as thoughtful counterpoints. The book shines in its portrayal of finding self-acceptance. Pages from the monster book add occasional life tips and lead toward lessons in gratitude, and Sophie’s flights of inspiration set her on a search for a cure. An intelligent and provocative story about a memorable girl who discovers her own unique talents, reminding those around her that everyone—no matter how they look—feels love and pain."

Foreword Reviews

"Swore's character-driven debut, in the vein of R. J. Palacio's Wonder, allows readers to step inside Sophie's thoughts and to understand and empathize with her, leaving them to wonder how they would react if they were Sophie."
 

starred review Booklist

2019 Gold winner for Juvenile Fiction

Foreword Indies Award

nominee 2021

Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award

02/01/2019

Gr 4–6—Sophie's got a big secret that she's desperate to keep hidden: she's actually a monster. She knows this because of the blood tumor bulging on her face, and from the Big Book of Monsters that she's carried around since she found it in her kindergarten library. Sophie doesn't expect anything to change after a big move, but her new neighborhood in Portland, OR, offers a new friend named Autumn (who Sophie thinks is a fairy), Autumn's kindly grandmother (definitely a witch), and Kelsi, a mechanic with a scarred face who rescues Sophie and her mom when their car breaks down (almost certainly a shape-shifting demon). In fact, Sophie believes that nearly everyone she meets is some kind of monster or fairy, which raises the stakes of every interaction. Sophie is sure that if she and Autumn can find the right spell in Mrs. Barrett's spell book, she will be able to be a normal human girl—free of any facial disfigurements. Sophie is a compelling if difficult protagonist; she is constantly self-sabotaging, and it is hard not to be frustrated by many of her choices. Chapters are interspersed with pages from Sophie's favorite book describing different monsters; while this device is sure to appeal to avid creature enthusiasts, the monsters described do not always relate to the story. At one point, a Native character briefly appears to help explain the behavior of a crow; they do not play a larger role inthe narrative. Notably, no other characters' origins are designated as non-white. Overall, the story is engaging and likely to appeal to middle grade readers. VERDICT Give to readers who enjoy books like R.J. Palacio's Wonder, Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind, and Raina Telgemeier's Ghosts.—Kelsey Socha, Ventress Memorial Library, Marshfield, MA

School Library Journal

2019-01-15

Sophie, a 10-year-old with a facial birthmark, sees monsters everywhere she looks—including in the mirror.

Sophie has a hemangioma, a textured birthmark across her face. A frequent victim of bullying, Sophie hides from the world behind sunglasses or her hair. Her mother moves them both from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to the city, where she hopes specialists will be able to surgically remove Sophie's birthmark and Sophie can get a fresh start at a new school. The fresh start works, a little. Sophie makes her first friend, a bubbly girl named Autumn. But Sophie's demons are all too real. Constantly reading her Big Book of Monsters (which mixes monsters and figures from various world cosmologies), Sophie sees creatures everywhere. Most are dangerous but not all: Autumn is obviously a fairy, while Autumn's Irish herbalist grandmother is a kindly witch. Sophie decides to remove the curse she's sure has afflicted her, finding ingredients for a magical cure all over Portland while identifying "the ghost of a Native American princess" and "an old Native American man" in passers-by and deciding they're her magical helpers. The message—that true beauty comes from the inside—is worthy but unremarkable and is ultimately undermined by tired disability tropes. The mishmash of monstrosity and magic with world religions is as unfortunate as the placement of generic Native characters in the service of this white girl; that she has a Latina doctor would be nice except that the highly atypical spelling of her doctor's surname ("Escabar") will likely throw Latinx readers.

Skip. (Fiction. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews