Magic, Monsters, and Me

At the age of fifteen Austin Kang Jr., lives a semi-normal teenage life. His parents Cecilia and Austin Sr., are still in love and Austin hopes one day it will be the same for him with a special someone. He lives in a comfortable mansion on North Sunset Canyon Drive. The house has very good feng shui and it centers their family and keeps them safe and grounded. His passions in life are: playing soccer, listening to grunge music like his father, and as a Coaugelus fights the Coven and finding a special boy. He loves saving Ordinaries from monsters. But what he loves most of all is hunting monsters to keep them all safe. His favorite cousin is Barn Wong but they are more like brothers. Barn and Austin hope they will both get to train at the Dau Xha, the dojo with Daumo Maurso the sensei. Austin’s mother just would like Austin to take a break from the monsters and be a boy and have fun. As teenagers go he’s pretty normal.Meeting up with Barn turns Austin’s little orbit in a spin. He really takes notice of the red-haired boy with freckles that’s with Barn. He’s the most beautiful boy in the world Austin has ever seen and he wanted to be circling him forever.Elijah Delomary, is sixteen, he yearns to have a normal life. He’s also an Encantreino. He lives with his mother Belinda and sister Tory. His mentor is his Aunt Christine. But his mother rules his life. She puts so much pressure on him. She has a ten year plan all set for him and has all types of activities scheduled, even tap dancing. It hardly leaves any time for Elijah to do what he wants. Of course, he does everything she wants with fear. If he does anything wrong he would tarnish or destroy the family name and his brand. He misses his father, Lawrence, and feels he’s to blame for his father leaving. Even though his Uncle George has stepped up and has supported Elijah, he still has a yearning to connect with his father. His mother is a Magical and his father is an Ordinary and in the beginning the relationship was fine but the difference in opinions caused problems. He was often bullied in school because of his red hair and the status of the Delomary name. He’s friends with Ordinaries: April, Kevin, Gina, Tina, Letitia and his cousins Tyrone and Tyrell. They knew his secret of hunting monsters. He has a stuffed octopus by the name of Ocho and a retriever named Boxey, his familiar. He has a passion for grunge music, loves to read poetry, fiction and favored mysteries. He misses his best friend Barn Wong whose a Coaugelo. Things were starting to change as they grew. Elijah attends the Summer Camp for Magicals, where he gets to see Aurmiddo. The camp for Magicals is in a Dimension and they speak the Old Language. To attend the travel takes them seven thousand years to the future and across six dimensions.When Elijah has a first kiss with Aurmiddo, it sends him into a panic. Boys do not kiss boys, especially in Elijah’s case. It would definitely destroy his family name. When he finally meets Austin and they have a first kiss, it sends Elijah into a whirlwind of overthinking. Will he be able to handle all the pressures that are put upon him, along with Austin and this newly found sexuality?Timoteo Tong certainly brings the imagination to a high level with the creativeness of “Magic Monsters & Me”. The world building is amazing, especially the time spent at camp in a different dimension. The history of Elijah’s great-great grandfather, Dirk Delomary, is a highlight in this novel. I commend the author for so many fabulous descriptions of this new world of magic and monsters. It’s also a blend of multilingual and cultures that make this novel outstanding. There’s a “Glossary” to help explain: Land, Organizations, Leaders and Dimensions. But the author does’t stop there. They provide so many more explanations throughout the novel about: XAQ2, PlasmX, Zuqoe, Xem Sen Ou ancient martial arts, Gloom, Old Language, Anti-Coven League, Patricians, Old Earth in the seventh dimension, Coaugelus, Enccantreino, Magicals, and Ordinaries that live in the light and are the Shimmering, the Pacificmenta, and so much more.I really liked Austin and Elijah as a young teenage couple facing their coming out, dealing with their sexuality, homophobia, bullying and Old Earth rules. It also reflects the dysfunction in Elijah’s family, especially when it comes to parents, versus the loving family of Austin. Elijah is surely under so much stress just from the burden of carrying the family name and all of his responsibilities. Austin is a beautiful soul, he’s funny, carefree, understanding and is the perfect support for Elijah.One character to really watch for is Delvina. She’s wicked and funny but she becomes an ally for Elijah. She’s also has some very important advice that she shares. After all she’s in love with Zid’dra.I highly recommend “Magic, Monsters & Me” even though it’s YA do not let that turn you away. This is a first time read for me from Timoteo Tong, with this debut novel and I was not disappointed. It’s entertaining, fun, with a little danger, plenty of action, heart break, growing pains and first time love. For me, “Magic, Monster & Me” has a high potential as a series. I’m curious to find out what Timoteo Tong has planned for Elijah and Austin, next!