Review: The Fantastical and Mysterious Tale of Sweetpea of Monsterville by Corey Wolff

Rhyming its way through monstrous lands and otherworldly mommy issues, The Fantastical and Mysterious Tale of Sweet Pea of Monsterville by Corey Wolff is a strange and visionary work of fantasy.

Sweet Pea may be a resident of Monsterville – and heir to the throne – but his personality is anything but horrifying, and his mother is far from happy about it. The Queen of the Monsters is one sadistic mother, and has no mercy for humans or sons who are unwilling to scare them. Her cruelty forces Sweet Pea to discover the strength he has always possessed, and stand up for what he believes in, even if that means diving into a mysterious portal to fight a massive leviathan.

When Sweet Pea encounters a human named Isabella with an imagination big enough for two worlds, he sees his chance for redemption, and maybe even an opportunity to be a hero. Isabella, however, simply wants to go on an adventure and escape the stress of her tormentors in the real world. Little does she know that the dangers in Monsterville are very real, but with enough courage, anything can be overcome.

Without giving away too much of the heroic exploits, high-stakes quests, or royal promotions in this action-packed tale, each scene seems more inventive than the last, and Sweet Pea and Isabella (and Teddy) are an incredible team at the heart of this story. Deeply allegorical in its layered metaphors, which can be appreciated by both young readers and adults, this quick read packs in more messaging than many YA books two or three times its size. The concept of different worlds being created by the shifting beliefs of a child is fascinating and thought-provoking, commenting on the power of knowledge and how it can be used for incredible good or indescribable evil. Though some of these deeper themes may be lost on adolescent readers, the moral underpinnings of the book are strong and timeless.

Similarly, while the combination of poetry and prose makes for an original storytelling experience, some of the syntactical structuring of the verses may make comprehension a challenge for the youngest of target readers, and it isn’t immediately clear why the style switches in fits and starts throughout the book, as both forms follow the same story arc. Some of the rhyming is acrobatically forced as well, making the ideas unclear or circuitous so a second read is required. The prose chapters allow for more clear character development and plot progression, while the poetic chapters feel more whimsical and slightly more open to interpretation, but the two halves do not always flow seamlessly together.

As a whole, an editorial pass could smooth some of the formatting inconsistencies, adjust awkward language, and make the entire reading experience more cohesive. That said, the book is distinctly ambitious, creative, and memorable. Summoning the energy of the epic poetry of Dante, Homer, Milton, and Virgil through a YA lens, this hilarious and reality-smashing adventure will carry readers from cosmic rap battles to existential paradoxes, for a singularly dreamlike and original work of YA fantasy.