Monster High by Lisi Harrison

I'm a member of HipScouts, a program by Little, Brown and Company publishing that sends out ARC (Advanced Readers Copies) of young adult titles to be read and reviewed.  I'm going to post reviews of some of the books I receive through this program (as well as a similar program from another publisher).  Monster High will be available for purchase this September.  I do my best to keep spoilers out of my reviews!

Rating:  7

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and was excited to pick it up each evening.  I felt that the characters were well-represented and realistic (as "realistic" as monsters can be, anyway).  Even though I'm not in high school anymore, this book transported me back a couple of years and triggered many of the same emotions I felt then.  Lisi Harrison does a great job including just the right amount of information to keep the plot moving while also including important life lessons.  However, I felt that the book ended rather suddenly.  I was hoping that we would find out more of what happened after the dance, and instead, the ending was not satisfying.  It left me with a cliffhanger that I'm not sure needs to be satisfied with another entire book; we really just needed another chapter or two.

Update:  There will be a sequel to Monster High released in Spring 2011.