Books like Gargoyles of Gaylord

"I think a lot of people are afraid of the dark, but they just don't admit it." —Gargoyles of Gaylord, P. 7 Johnathan Rand's Michigan Chillers series continues with a classically formulated tale of a gargoyle netherworld and a couple of kids who fight to seal a breach in the wall separating the land of the gargoyles from that of humans, before it's too late and the demonic beings spread across the earth unchecked forevermore. Two preteen girls versus dozens of winged monsters sounds like a mismatch, and it is...unless those girls have a supernatural guardian to inform them of the gargoyles' one weakness, so they can get the jump on them and force the creatures back where they came from before the sun sets and their diurnal constraint is lifted. Will humans or gargoyles ultimately emerge as the surviving species? Corrine (called Corky) and Ashley are having a blast this summer doing all the things there isn't time for during the school session. They play outside together until well after dark, neatly avoiding their crabby neighbor Mr. Hansel, and are required by their parents only to stick close to home. But summer fun hits the skids when a plague of living gargoyles descends on their hometown of Gaylord, Michigan, abducting Corky and Ashley and spiriting them away to a terrifying underground realm called Darkland. A rescuer happens along in timely fashion to extricate Corky and Ashley from Darkland's throes, but now the girls are privy to a disconcerting secret: Gargoyles are invading Gaylord, and only by helping the Gatewatcher round them all up and return them to Darkland before sunset is there any hope for the world to proceed without harassment by gargoyle enemies. Racing the clock, Corky and Ashley accept the dangerous challenge and set out to find every rogue gargoyle in Gaylord and eject them to Darkland, in assistance to the Gatewatcher. Not everything goes according to plan, however, as the long summer day dwindles toward night and unlocated gargoyles remain in the vicinity of Gaylord. Is there any way to once and for all rid the world of living gargoyles, or is their curse permanently visited on planet earth? Nonstandard grammar, punctuation, and usage are a given for Michigan Chillers, and Gargoyles of Gaylord has its share, though not as much as the first book or two of the series. Several plot questions are left unresolved by the end of the story, but nothing too glaring, and the fun spirit of the narrative helps make up for any logistical inconsistencies or weaknesses. As noted on page eighty-five, as well as in previous Michigan Chillers, "Some things are just too strange to understand." I'll grant the book that benefit of the doubt. Some of the story's dangers also feel more immediate than earlier Michigan Chillers, so that's a plus. The Gargoyles of Gaylord crossword puzzle (making its debut for the series), word search, and scrambled word puzzle make this book a good travel companion for a long car or plane ride. I would give Gargoyles of Gaylord one and a half stars, and though that could have almost as easily been rounded down, I did enjoy the read. Johnathan Rand's fans will not be disappointed.