ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Twelve-year-old Jacob and best friend Lily frequently hang out at a mausoleum in the cemetery between their houses. One night they are swept into Always October, a parallel universe filled with monsters representing humankind's greatest fears. They encounter warring creature groups, including one that would like to permanently sever connections between the two worlds. Jacob's younger brother, Little Dumpling (a foundling who has recently become a monster himself), is the focus of this dispute, with each side claiming LD is the key to survival. Related in alternating chapters by Jacob and Lily, Coville's tale is a quest for survival and knowledge: Jacob needs to understand the disappearances of his grandfather and father and safely return LD to the real world, while Lily functions to support Jake, who suffers from multiple insecurities and OCD. Short chapters and a large font make the lengthy text accessible, and a cast of intriguing minor characters (especially a two-part monster, Sploot Fah, that bonds with Jacob) will intrigue readers. Give to fans of Debi Gliori's Witch Baby series.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

When a baby left on Jake's doorstep turns into a monster, Jake and his friend Lily are propelled into another world where humankind's worst nightmares are stored. To save the baby and their world, they must evade horrifying monsters and get home. Told in Lily's and Jake's voices (often with little difference between them), the story races from one perilous episode to another.

Kirkus Reviews

From the very first line ("We've only got two weeks before Jake has to turn into a monster for the first time") to the riveting ending, this fantasy will have readers turning pages recklessly. Jake, son and grandson of men who disappeared without explanation, becomes enmeshed in the family mysteries when his (informally) adopted baby brother turns into a charming, fuzzy green monster. Jake and his sidekick "Weird Lily" Cawker leave our Earth and land in the world of Always October, where it is ever autumn, the landscape holds many dangers, and monsters reign over all. Their quest: Save both Earth and Almost October from a deranged monster. Documented in alternate chapters by Lily and Jake--which allows each one to end in a cliffhanger--the journey is exciting and moves along at a fine pace. Bursting with enticing characters and building tension, this book has everything a reader could want--breathtaking suspense, monstrously entertaining worldbuilding and lots of "punny" and burp-and-fart humor. Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Sixth-grade best friends Jake and Lily (no relation to the headliners of Jerry Spinelli's recent Jake and Lily) narrate alternate chapters of this monster-filled adventure, chronicling their odyssey into a land they had mistakenly believed was a fictional creation of Jake's fantasy-writing grandfather. Sympathetic to each other's quirks-Jake's obsessive-compulsive tapping and "problem with bridges," Lily's love of macabre songs ("Cannibal Bunnies Go to the Fair")-they find refuge reading in their cemetery mausoleum hangout. When a baby appears on Jake's doorstep, and later transforms into a monster, the children, Lily's Grampa Gnarly, and others are forced to engage larger mysteries. Together they embark on a full-throttle race to save both the baby and the "Woven Worlds" from the Unravelers, who wish to sever ties between Humana and Always October, a place created from human imagination to "manifest and hold the fears that come with being alive." Coville (the My Teacher Is an Alien books) offers an entertaining, spine-tingling rollick as the group uncovers long-hidden secrets and discovers unknown strengths. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Gr 4-7 Sixth-grader Jacob Doolittle and his best friend, Lily, are torn between fascination and terror in this comedic horror tale. When Jacob discovers a baby on his doorstep, his mother decides to keep it-even when the newborn sprouts pointy ears, bushy fur, and fangs. Adjusting to the new life of monster-sitting, Jacob and Lily next discover a secret room in the attic that holds the clues to the earlier disappearance of Jacob's father and grandfather. The boy's grandfather, Arthur Doolittle, once wrote a book called A World of Midnight in which he first described the monster world known as "Always October." One night when a magical portal appears in Jacob's room, he and his baby monster, Little Dumpling, must flee from the evil monster Mazrak and his herd of Unravelers. Entering the world of Always October, Jacob and his friends encounter a giant spider called Octavia, the Tunnel of Tears, Forest of the Lost, Black Bridge of Doom, and the Library of Nightmares, while protecting LD. Upon his shoulders rests the fate of Always October and Humana. The story alternates between Jacob's and Lily's points of view. With the right combination of horror and humor, this book will hold readers in its grip and have them asking for more. Fans of Coville's "Magic Shop" series (Harcourt) will find this new story cooler than a goblin's heinie! Krista Welz, The North Bergen Public Library, NJ