This book has an imaginative plot and a wonderful sense of whimsy. It is fast-paced taking full advantage of the nonsensical opportunities inherent in monster hunts taken on by a little girl and her invisible dog. There are wonderfully eccentric characters: the Brigadier, a 30 foot dog man who wears a chicken suit and plays the accordion, the Bulegars, stone heads on wheels, that tear up the landscape, and mountain range that threatens to destroy the universe. The book is about the trials and tribulations of growing up and accepting one's self. After all, Tess learns, the universe would be rather boring if we were all the same.