Boy vs Beast by Mac Park

Scholastic, 2012.
No. 13. Torlavasaur. ISBN 978-1-92168-463-0.
No. 14. Chillterratan. ISBN 978-1-92168-464-7.
Beasts and man shared the world but after many battles the world was divided into two, man was given Earth and the beasts were given Beastium. One border wall divides the two domains and it is the job of the border guards is to stop the beasts from breaking through the wall.
Beasts have escaped from an experimental compound know as the Outlands and have entered Beastium as mega mutants. Kai Masters who was a young border guard and is now a captain can engage the help of a team of other border guards. In Torlavasaur, Kai has Jay Armstrong's help to fight the battling beasts, while in Chillterratan, he is aided by Will Rutter.
This series is directly aimed at young boys who are becoming independent readers. It uses their love of computer games and trading cards to promote the stories. The simple sentence structure and large print aid their understanding of the text. Black and white illustrations and word art are scattered throughout the book and the battle scene is described in all its glory in a 4 page graphic novel style. The book jackets are highly appealing for their intended audience. There is enough action, special equipment and monsters to keep the reader happy. The aim of this series to get boys into books, to be a fun read.
The author/s' name Mac Park, is a mash up of the names of the two women who write this series, Susannah McFarlane and Louise Park.
Check out the very impressive website where you can even create your beast at http://www.boyvsbeast.com/
A book trailer is available.
Jane Moore