The Children on the Hill

4/5 stars

In 1978, Gran brought home a curious girl that was to be Vi and Eric’s new sister. They don’t know where she came from but suspect she is another patient from the treatment center their grandmother runs. They quickly recruit her into their Monster Club so they can hunt monsters. Meanwhile in 2019, Lizzy is on her own very real monster hunt. A monster has been taking young women and Lizzy is determined to find it. She has believed in monsters all her life and this one may be closer to home than she thought.

The Children on the Hill was an eerie thriller that had a bit of a slow beginning. It alternated between many perspectives as well as back and forth between 1978 and 2019. The telling of the story wasn’t exactly linear, but that kept me interested and guessing at what would happen. It was a relatively disturbing story, but not exactly scary for a book about monsters. It remained realistic enough to be creepy and relatable.

Once the story picked up, I couldn’t put it down. McHanon did a great job at building this world with perspectives from Lizzy, a monster, and excerpts from the fictional reports of a young journalist in the novel. I was fully engaged and excited to see what was to come and was not prepared for the plot twist. It was really well done and made me want to go back and re-read to see what I had missed.

The resolution and ending were a bit of a letdown for me. It felt too smooth after a lot of build up and the great twist. It was saved some by the last chapter where we see a bit more of the monster, but I was still hoping for more climax. Despite this, I really enjoyed the book and might even re-read it after knowing the plot twist!