Review: Spooktacular Fun! Just Awesome!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of The Nightmare Series, and am always SO thrilled when a new one comes out, so I’m happy to report that author Robert Gray has done it again! He’s added a spooktacularly fun and thrilling new volume to his already awesome series. Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers, book three in this series, joins books one and two as some of my favorite middle-grade reads!In book three, we find the horrible (which really means awesome) Eve Hallows in some unbelievably adorable (which means awful) situations. On the run from The Source, with her three best human friends, reluctant heroine Eve must locate the Book of Shivers to save both her beloved Gravesville and the human world that's growing on her. Along the way she ends up in some pretty unexpected places and discovers some info that rocks both her worlds!The Nightmare Series continues to have EVERYTHING I love in my middle-grade reads: fantastic world-building, unforgettable characters, stellar storytelling, and an imaginative story. Like books one and two, Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers is a captivating and entertaining mix of laugh-out-loud humor, a whimsical macabre atmosphere, creepy fun, and clever writing. Gray expands both his Gravesville and the human world, introduces some kooky cool new characters, and takes Eve and readers on a wild ride (literally!).I love the whimsically dark atmosphere of these books! Gray creates a setting and tone that are deliciously eerie and unexpected, with enough thrills and chills to keep readers in spine-tingling shivers, but always appropriate for its intended audience. Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers is bursting with monster-y goodness of the classic kind (vampires, mummies, witches, and ghosts, oh my!) and the imaginative and weird kind (werebies, zompires, barf twins). We get to explore more of Gravesville in all its horrible, swampy glory (sign me up for a timeshare!) and we end up in the only place in the human world that is just as weird, strange, and outrageous as Gravesville: Hollywood!All my fave characters from books one and two are back in Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers, while we meet some new creeptastic friends. Eve Hallows, with her pitch-perfect teen sarcasm; unique perspective; and all around horribly awesome personality, continues to be so lovable and relatable! I love being inside her head and seeing the story unfold through her eyes and wry, honest observations. Eve’s three human BFF’s, Steve; Lucy; and Carly Beth really shine in this book and this quirky foursome friendship is one of the most genuine and fun ones in middle-grade.A Frankentrain, with lightning and all, takes Eve and her friends on an unforgettable and crazy trip in search of the mysterious Sedrick Creach. Eve ends up discovering things about her past that will have readers exclaiming “Oh. My. Jack!”. And that ending?! Let’s just say I’m DYING for the next book!MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Simply put, I LoveAdoreAmCrazyAbout this series! Robert Gray continues to craft wildly imaginative, wickedly fun, and highly entertaining books, and Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers is no exception. A must read book in a must read series for both young and older readers!