Creature Clinic

by | Sep 29, 2025

Kara Orc is a doctor-in-training alongside Tucker Wolf at the Creature Clinic. Besides working with her competitive rival, Kara also has to contend with her mother, head doctor of the clinic. When a giant collapses outside their doors, no one can figure out what’s wrong with him; however, an unconscious human is discovered under his boot. Humans live in Fableland, which is outside of Myth Valley where the clinic is located, so they are rarely seen.

Kara wants to do the right thing and treat the human as a patient, but her mother wants him gone and orders Oblong, the janitor, to take him away. Oblong decides to help Kara with her plan to secretly treat the human, except once the human, Mitch, wakes up, he and Oblong become friends and secretly travel around the clinic together. Mitch has a plan to help the other patients, but with humans banned from the premises, they’ll have to get creative to help him prove himself and treat the giant before it’s too late.

This was an interesting take on the hospital setting that showcases how caring and asking questions can help patients just as much as the medicine that gets prescribed. The cast of characters was well rounded with a variety of personalities and creatures throughout the story. Most of the creatures will be known to the reader, but there’s a small handful, like Oblong, that are new and different. The coloring matched the tone, and the setting had a clean art style in the clinic and rougher details when it would enhance the characteristics of the scene outside of the clinic.

The charm of this story is in the relationship between daughter and mother, which addresses generational trauma in a realistic way. The author effectively portrays a variety of relationships between the myriad characters: family, friend, and rival. This would make a great addition to any middle school library or public library.

Creature Clinic
By Gavin Aung Than
Macmillan First Second, 2025
ISBN: 9781250847584

Company Age Rating: 8-12

NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Creator Representation:  Australian,