Lakeland Public Library discussion

For part of our Adult and Teen Summer Reading Challenge, we've asked you to imagine your story with monsters. Here are a few suggestions. But because monsters have many faces, in some of these stories you might find yourself asking "who is the true monster here?" If monsters are just too dark a subject, you'll also find some titles that use mythic creatures to tell less grim stories. We've included fiction, non-fiction and YA fiction. If we missed a title you really enjoyed, and it deals with monsters (of the human or beast variety), let us and other readers know in the comments sections.

FICTION:

Grendel by John Gardner

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Terror by Dan Simmons

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Let Me In by John Lindqvist Ajvide

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

World War Z by Max Brooks

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin

Marilyn's Monsters graphic novel by Tommy Redolfi

Hellboy graphic novel series by Mike Mignola

The Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini

The Temeraire (His Majesty's Dragon) series by Naomi Novik

The Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons) series by Marie Brennan


NONFICTION:
The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke

On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen Asma

American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends and Sightings in America by Linda Godfrey

The Science of Monsters: The Truth about Zombies, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires and Other Legendary Creatures by Meg Hafdahl

Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters by Anne Kostelanetz Mellor

Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Kathryn Harkup

The Monster of Florence: A True Story by Douglas Preston

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan

No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Animal in History by Dane Huckelbridge


YA FICTION:

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Monstress graphic series by Marjorie M. Liu

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs

Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan

Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onybuchi