A 12-year-old's monster doodles come to life and terrorize his Brooklyn neighborhood in a quirky novel by collaborators Aronofsky and Handel (Noah). With his parents bickering more than ever over the fate of his father's Coney Island amusement park, King's Wonderland, Eric "Doodles" King is counting on Monster Club, a neighborhood group dedicated to developing the "coolest, smartest monster battle game of all time," to distract him. But as the club crumbles following a blowout with one of its members, who claims the group has outgrown the game, Doodles scrambles for a way to keep them together. As Doodles contends with tense relationships and literal monsters, flashbacks detailing a surrealist 1940s Coney Island and Doodles's great-great-grand-father fleeing a pogrom in Kyiv feature throughout. Disjointed pacing, a tone that unevenly vacillates between somber and silly, and thinly rendered characters impede what is an otherwise boisterous read. Classic tropes such as monsters coming to life and friends on the outs banding together to defeat a larger evil permeate this action-packed series opener, a savory match for fans of Doodleville. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8--12. (Sept.)

A boy fights to protect his family's Coney Island amusement park from developers and save his parents' marriage using magic ink that allows drawings to come to life. Two years ago, sixth graders Eric "Doodles" King and his best friend, Alan "Yoo-hoo" Yoo, created Monster Club, in which members draw monsters and pit them against each other in battle, but the other club members are beginning to lose interest. At home, Eric worries that his arguing parents will separate and that King's Wonderland, the amusement park that's been in his dad's family for generations, will have to close. When Eric discovers some smelly old ink and uses it to create "a literal magic marker" that allows the monsters he draws to come to life, he believes he's found a way to save King's: by having a real-life monster battle. Matters get wildly out of hand, however, when Eric brings the magic ink to school and bully Darren Nuggio uses it to create an army of monsters, leading to an exciting, sustained action sequence. A prologue and a tale from King Neptune, an eccentric old man who wanders the Coney Island boardwalk, provide some family history for Eric that is rooted in early-20th-century Eastern European pogroms. An epilogue offers an origin story for the magic ink and a surprise twist, setting things up for the sequel. Names signal ethnic diversity in the supporting cast. Art not seen. Action packed and wildly creative. (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 3--6--Eric has spent hours perfecting drawings of Brickman, a very special monster who can shoot cement out of one arm and swing a wrecking ball with the other. Using various board game strategies, Eric and his friends in Monster Club battle their monster drawings against each other, vying for dominance and bragging rights. This takes place on paper until Eric comes across some very special (and very smelly) ink passed down from his great-great-grandfather, which causes the monsters to pop off the page as real, three-dimensional, ready-to-rumble beasties. Eric is thrilled--until his nemesis at school draws some out-of-control monsters of his own, leading to a wild battle and chase culminating in a showdown at Coney Island. The biggest challenge of this novel is simply how many different plot points are included: flashbacks to a great-great-grandfather's experiences in the early 20th century, mythical creatures, modern monsters, both obvious and secret villains, friendships, falling outs, the difficulties of outgrowing childhood pleasures, burgeoning romance, parents who may be divorcing, parents who may be losing their business, bullying at school, and the iconic elements of Coney Island. All these combine to create a fast-paced and exciting yet cluttered, thrill ride. While this first entry may have been more successful having eliminated some of those elements, all of these pieces do provide numerous potential plot lines for future entries in the series. Engaging illustrations provide additional interest; characters are depicted with a range of skin tones. VERDICT Electrifying adventures and a clever twist will leave readers anticipating the next volume in this new, jam-packed adventure series.--Alyssa Annico