Eleven-year-old Zeke Funklestone has always been the new kid. His mom's job has bounced him all around the country, never allowing him to settle down and make friends. He hopes that maybe their new home in Portland might finally give him the chance.

But when Zeke gets chased through his new neighborhood by a winged fire-breathing snake creature and rescued by a snarky vampire, he is thrust into a centuries-old struggle between monsters and humans, and he is the only one who can stop it.

Zeke will have to summon all the courage he can and team up with a group of monsters to rebuild one of Dr. Frankenstein's most ambitious and dangerous machines. Only then can they finally send the monsters back to their own realm ... and give Zeke a chance at a normal adolescence.

Oh, there's one catch: To succeed, they'll have to use the machine on a gigantic, angry, and vengeful Kraken that now lurks in the river.

This is shaping up to be the worst Christmas Break EVER.