I’d been interested in reading this one since before the publisher sent it to me to read for the Gateway committee I am on. And really this did not let me down. It kept my interest throughout the story. I wanted to know how much was just imagination, how he was feeling because of what had happened, or if there was a real monster. And it was great how the author made the grandparents and father and mother the bad guys, just like they would be to a teen in that type of situation, but then also made me realize that maybe they weren’t as bad as they seemed at first. Or at least with some of them. I liked the way the author kept some twists and turns on what or who was actually behind all of the things happening. There was a bit where Virgil thanks a teacher for making something a safe space for him, and I really loved that part, and know that as an educator, I try to do my best to make the library, or my classroom in the past, a safe space for students who need that. This is one I definitely enjoyed!