  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 07/01/2018 *Starred Review* Initially stunned to learn that his father wasn’t an archaeologist but a cryptid hunter employed by a decidedly short-tempered (apparent) billionaire, orphaned seventh-grader Clivo takes up the mantle. As his gratifyingly well-funded travels take him from the Colorado Rockies to the Maine woods, Loch Ness, and remotest Alaska in this first of a planned duology, he discovers that rare, legendary creatures aren’t that hard to find—he comes away with some nifty selfies—and that they actually need protection from unscrupulous rival hunters. So does he, as it turns out. Fortunately, Clivo’s homeschooling in languages, jujitsu, and wilderness survival skills stand him in good stead. Better yet, he finds geeky but able allies in the Myth Blasters, a club of young brainiacs, and despite torrents of verbal abuse, his new boss proves willing to mount a rescue mission in the clutch. Fisher slips in occasional cryptid info dumps, but rather than indulging in the first novelist’s usual tendency to cram in lots of distracting extra themes and subplots, she dishes up an action-oriented romp, puts a resourceful but not superhuman protagonist at the head of a colorful, diverse (of species as well as race) supporting cast, and salts the plot with tantalizing hints that the stakes are about to be raised. Stay tuned for further monsters and mishaps in the forthcoming sequel, Cryptid Keeper. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. Loading...
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