The Slither Sisters

November 15, 2012
Ancient squirming evil from dark dimensions beyond threatens to take over the world--starting with the student-council presidency. In series opener Professor Gargoyle (2012), Lovecraft Middle School seventh-grader Robert Arthur and his former nemesis, Glenn Torkells, saved their new school from the eldritch demon inhabiting Professor Goyle's body. Now, crazed physicist Crawford Tillinghast, currently trapped in another dimension, is attempting to take over Lovecraft Middle School by gaining control of the student council with his minions, two snake-haired demons disguised as popular girls Sarah and Sylvia Price. Can Robert and Glenn defeat the dimension-hopping monsters with the help of ghost girl Karina and slightly creepy librarian Ms. Lavinia, or will the cthulhu hordes overrun us all? Gilman's second entry picks up where the first left off and adeptly sets up the third, to be released two months hence. It's another slightly creepy, often funny read that doesn't require much of its audience (least of all knowledge of the works of H.P. Lovecraft). Occasional action-packed and monster-filled black-and-white illustrations and another motion-activated lenticular cover add eye-catching zest. Though it can stand alone, much is set up in the first book. Worth a look for fans of Spiderwick and the ever-living Goosebumps. (Humorous horror. 9-12)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-This book picks up where Professor Gargoyle (Quirk, 2012) left off. The Price twins are back, but something is decidedly not right about them and seventh-grader Robert Arthur and his new friends Glenn and Karina are determined to get to the bottom of it all. But first, he needs to run for student-council president, because Sarah Price is running against the dorky Howard Mergler, who doesn't stand a chance against her. She and her sister, Sylvia, are both slithering snake monsters in disguise. It seems that the school was built with materials recycled from remnants of a haunted mansion, and monsters are conspiring to take over the school. Only Robert, Glenn, and Karina, who is a ghost, know about it. This fast-paced, humorous tale will appeal to fans of horror along the lines of R. L. Stine. The pace as well as the spot art will keep readers hooked, and a cliff-hanger of sorts will keep them asking for more. It is best to start with book one, but not totally necessary.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
Grades 4-6 Following Professor Gargoyle (2012), this second outing in the promising Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series introduces Sarah and Sylvia Price, popular 13-year-old twins who turn into revolting snake girls with eight-inch tongues once you cross through the portal between middle school and haunted Tillinghast Mansion. It's up to Robert, Glenn, and ghost girl Karina to stop the snakesisters from leading the whole school to doom at the tentacles of the Old Ones. Lovecraftian gibberish ( Y'golonac chaugnar faugn ) and beasties (ably sketched by Smith) keep this fast, fun, and adequately disgusting. Great teaser for volume three, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
In these two entries featuring murderous reptiles and insects, the saga of a ghost and her two best (human) friends, and a creepy school that may destroy the world, continues. The dialogue is amusing and the character development is sound, but the plot is now feeling formulaic, and the villains waver between hopelessly inept and terrifyingly powerful as needed.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)