Arthur Penhaligon is no ordinary boy. In fact, his life has been far from ordinary. Adopted after his birth parents died from a flu epidemic when he was only a baby, Arthur now lives with his mother Emily, his father Bob, and his six siblings. However this is just the beginning of his uniqueness, because what happens next in Arthur's life is from another world altogether.

On his first day of school as a seventh grader, Arthur has an asthma attack and an odd series of events begin taking shape. Two strange-looking men who seem to know Arthur suddenly appear from a flash of light: Mister Monday, a weirdly dressed man who is wheelchair-bound, and his attendant, Sneezer. It soon becomes apparent that their intentions are not good, and Arthur realizes they want him dead. Fortunately his life is spared and the men eventually disappear, leaving behind a mysterious Key that is shaped like the minute hand of a clock and an Atlas.

While Arthur tries to figure out the mystery behind these two objects, his world is quite literally turned upside down. A strange plague sweeps across the town. No one can find a cure for it, and Arthur determines that it's solely up to him to find one --- with the help of the Key and the Atlas.

As he searches for a cure, Arthur ends up in a world unlike any he has ever known. He meets a number of unusual and amusing people along the way, including an ink filler named Suzy Turquoise Blue. The world in which she lives is similar to Arthur's world --- but with major twists. People in Suzy's world wear clothing from the 19th century rather than the 21st, their technologies are advanced beyond centuries, and they are identified by a number and rank rather than by a specific name. This bizarre world is just one of many and is ruled by "the Will," an entity that comes in different forms, including a bossy green frog. As events unfold, the reader is drawn into wacky settings where nothing is as it appears.

MISTER MONDAY is a good book, particularly for those who have read the Harry Potter series. I thought the conversations between Arthur and the Will were especially funny. For the most part, Garth Nix has portrayed quite realistically what could happen if a plague swept across a city. Except of course, no strange thunderstorms would be occurring!

   --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)