| "MISTER MONDAY" by Garth Nix
Author: Garth Nix
Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Levels: 5.9
AR Points: 12.0
Publisher Recommended Age: 9-12
Publisher: Scholastic
Book Type: Paperback
Pages: 361
Book Description
Arthur is not supposed to be a hero. He is, in fact, supposed to die an early death. But then his life is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock. Arthur is safe — but his world is not. Along with the key comes a plague brought by bizarre creatures from another realm.
A stranger named Mister Monday, his avenging messengers with bloodstained wings, and an army of dog-faced Fetchers will stop at nothing to get the key back —even if it means destroying Arthur and everything around him.
Desperate, Arthur ventures into a mysterious house — a house that only he can see. It is in this house that Arthur must unravel the secrets of the key — and discover his true fate.
Book Awards
- Australia: Aurealis Award 2003 (Mister Monday) (Aurealis is an award for science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction in Australia)
- Australia: CBCA, Book of the Year Honour Book (Mister Monday) (CBCA Children's Book Council of Australia is Australia's most esteemed award for children's literature)
About the Keys to the Kingdom Series:
The Keys to the Kingdom series is about an asthmatic 12-year-old boy, Arthur Penhaligon. Arthur lives a relatively normal life as an adopted child in a large and caring family. An asthma attack on a Monday that should have killed him brings him to a strange house that only he can see and he is given a strange key in the shape like the minute hand of a clock. Because of this Key's magical properties, Arthur is relieved of his asthma, and proceeds to a strange and dangerous set of adventures.
Arthur discovers that the Will of the Architect, the creator of the house, was not fulfilled as it should have been. Instead, it was broken into seven pieces by the Architect's Trustees. The Will was forced to act on its own, and chooses Arthur as the Heir to the Kingdom. Therefore, it becomes Arthur's responsibility to recover each of the missing pieces of the Will by defeating each Trustee. Each Trustee has been afflicted with one of the seven deadly sins. By defeating each Trustee, Arthur obtains their Key and discovers hidden secrets of the house.
Each book moves from one day of the week to the next, and each day features a new Trustees who governs a different part of the House. The seven domains of the house are: the Lower House, the Far Reaches, the Border Sea, the Great Maze, the Middle House, the Upper House, and the Incomparable Gardens.
About the Author
Garth Nix (born 19 July 1963 in Melbourne) is an Australian author of young adult fantasy novels, most notably the Old Kingdom series, The Seventh Tower series, and The Keys to the Kingdom series.
Rather than become a scientist (like his father) or an artist (like his mother), he decided to be a writer. That meant, among other life experiences, attending college, working in a bookshop, and entering the publishing industry. Of course, it's tough to write when you're working all day, so Garth quit his day job to become a full-time writer.
The winner of many awards and much acclaim, his novels include Sabriel, Shade's Children, The Ragwitch, Lirael, The Seventh Tower series, and Abhorsen. Garth currently lives very happily near Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two sons. |
