By Lisi Harrison, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 272 pages

10Frankie Stein prefers to be called a RAD (Regular Attribute Dodger) but others would call her a monster being that she was created in a lab Frankenstein-style. She wants to fit in at school but also wants to be accepted for who she truly is. Melody is a fellow new student whose father is a plastic surgeon and has given her a beautiful face but, like Frankie, wants people to appreciate her for who she really is and not what she looks like. Unfortunately for both girls trouble abounds when the RADs start to mingle with the regular students, or normies.

Monster High takes the dilemma of the new girl in school and adds a twist. It is a light hearted story that has the obvious moral that one should not judge others based on their appearances. Despite being a RAD Frankie is still your typical teen who wants to rebel against the restrictions her parents place on her and finds herself in trouble. Her antics bring one laugh after another as the story moves long. The ending is somewhat predictable but overall, Monster High is still a charming story.

Reviewed by Debbie Suzuki