Milrose Munce and the den of professional help

by Douglas Cooper

Paper Book, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

jC813/.54

Genres

Young Adult

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

[Toronto] : Doubleday Canada, c2007.

Description

No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field. After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance. In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers. From the Hardcover edition.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member silenceiseverything

So, the free Kindle books on Amazon are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have the free classics (which absolutely rock!), but then you have the other ones which are romance or christian or a little bit of both. And that really isn't my cup of tea. However, a free book is a free book.

So, if it looks mildly interesting, it's going to get downloaded and maybe read. Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help was one of those books. I saw it and thought "cool cover". Read the plot and thought "interesting premise". Read that it was considered YA and thought "Freakin' Awesome!!!". Having read Milrose Munce, I have to say that I loved it!

First off, this book was just so hilarious. The first page had me laughing out loud. You see, the thing is, sarcastic people tend to have a soft spot for other sarcastic people. So I absolutely loved Milrose Munce. Yes, he was a smart ass. Yes, he was rude more times than not. But he had the most amazing dry sense of humor (And I love me some dry sense of humor), so I couldn't help but be endeared by him. He's a charmer that succeeded to charm me (and I don't charm easily). But most importantly, Milrose Munce was a loyal and true hero. And I'm a sucker for loyal and true heroes (see my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone review...)

Another thing I loved about this book, besides the witty wordplay and the amazing prose, was the ghosts. I not only have a soft spot for sarcastic people, but also for anything paranormal: zombies, vampires (the vicious "if I see you outside at night, I'm going to bite you, I don't care how pretty you are" kind), werewolves, ghosts. I love them all. These ghosts, however, weren't of the spooky kind. They were more practical jokers. They also encompassed every stereotype. You had the athletes, the scientists, and the God-awful poets. You also get cool tidbits as to how they died. I like the ghosts so much that I thought they should've been in the book more. As much as I loved Milrose Munce, I was oddly intrigued by the ghosts.

Anyway, I have to say that I absolutely loved Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help. It was just such a fun book that I feel like kids and adults can both enjoy it. It'll just put a smile on your face when it's not making you laugh out loud. I am hoping (and praying!) that there is a second installment in this series. I think this series has a lot of potential, if marketed of course. And on the upside, Milrose Munce has given me hopes that not all of the Kindle's free books are christian/romance and therefore useless (as useless as shy people were for Milrose Munce) to me.

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LibraryThing member dsdmd

This was one of Amazon's free books for Kindle. I passed it by several times before deciding to accept it. Then I waited four months before starting it. It sounded okay but not something I would normally read. What a pleasant surprise!

This is a whimsical, satirical story of Milrose Munce, a high

school student who sees and talks to the ghosts of students who haunt his school. These are not just your run of the mill ghosts though. With names like Deeply Damaged Dave, Hurled Harry, and Cryogenic Kelvin, how could they be. When his friendship with the ghosts is discovered, he is sent to the Den of Professional Help, along with Arabella, who also can see and hear the ghosts, where they are to be "cured". Great literature? No. It is a funny, entertaining story with lots of play on words. I enjoyed it thoroughly and am glad I took the chance on this book.

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LibraryThing member astults

This is a book easily enjoyed by adults and pre-teens. Any age knows one person who repeats a joke that was funny the first time and Milrose can show them how to handle the repetitiveness with grace. Milrose is awkward around real people but not his ghost friends.

Arabella and Milrose make a good

team. She can see the ghosts in school too and that's why they are sent to the Den of Professional Help together. The faculty don't want the ghosts around and anyone who can see them is a threat.

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LibraryThing member NogDog

An interesting read, and many people seem to really like it, but I found it to alternate between being pretentious and silly (and not silly in a good way). Perhaps it's been too many decades since I was a "young adult", but I can only see young children accepting the story as is, while some of the

subject matter will either go over their heads or possibly not be suitable; so I guess I don't see myself ever having really liked this book regardless of my age.

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LibraryThing member AliceAnna

I forgot to write down my thoughts when I first read this book, so no detail, but I do remember that it was exceedingly clever and exceedingly funny. I absolutely loved it. So much fun!

LibraryThing member DLMorrese

Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help is a charming and humorous tale of a schoolboy who befriends the ghosts inhabiting his school. Milrose, an intelligent if somewhat sarcastic young man, is a great nerdy hero--smart, proudly unathletic and fascinated by new and strange things--the

stranger the better. Unfortunately he is less than circumspect in his conversations with his ghostly friends, who remain unseen and unheard by the school staff, and he is sent to receive Professional Help along with one other classmate, Arabella who shares his peculiar affliction. The Professional Help however seems far from either professional or helpful and Milrose and Arabella learn that people who are sent there are never seen again by either the living or the dead.
This is not a serious book nor is it meant to be, as evidenced by the host of wittily named ghosts who wander the corridors. If you’re looking for a scary ghost story, this isn’t it but if you appreciate a quick, light read with lots of smiles, this is well work the 99¢ price for the Kindle version.

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LibraryThing member tldegray

Absolutely adorable. Charming, scary, and doesn't talk down to its YA audience. Adults who remember what it was like to be kids should enjoy it too.

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