I love a good middle grade book filled with adventure and fun! This is a somewhat horror, but it’s not really all that scary. Of course, it’s for kids so that makes sense. The characters in this book were great, and I loved getting lost inside their adventure along with them. It’s such a great blend of fantasy, adventure, and great lessons. I think that is what really draws me to MG books. There is usually such a great lesson for kids thrown into all the fun and fantasy of reading the story. This one is a lot about family and I thought it was done so well. This book was published last year, but since I was invited to review the second book, I needed to read and review…
Review: The Sleepwalker Tonic (Nightmares! #2) by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
Posted by Amy • 1 Comment
I received this book for free from Random House Children's Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel, Kirsten MillerSeries: Nightmares! #2
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers on September 8th 2015
Genres: Adventure, Horror, Middle-Grade
Source: Random House Children's Books
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Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic is the sequel to the hilariously scary New York Times bestselling novel Nightmares! by multitalented actor Jason Segel and bestselling author Kirsten Miller. You thought the nightmares were over? You better keep the lights on!
Charlie Laird has a dream life.
1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium.
2) He lives in a purple mansion with a portal to the Netherworld.
3) Since they escaped from the Netherworld, he and his best friends have been sleeping like babies.But Charlie can’t shake the feeling that something strange is afoot. Charlotte’s herbarium used to be one of the busiest stores in Cypress Creek. Now her loyal following is heading to Orville Falls for their herbal potions.
Weirder, though, Orville Falls is suddenly filled with . . . zombies? At least, they sure look like the walking dead. Rumor has it that no one’s sleeping in Orville Falls. And Charlie knows what that means.Things are getting freaky again.
I really enjoyed the first book, so I was eager to get to this one right away. Just when Charlie is finally happy with his family and life, things start to get weird again. Him and his brother Jack have sealed the portal to the nightmare realm, but now he has discovered that Jack has been visiting, and with the odd stuff happening in the waking world his little brother may become the one they blame. Things aren’t going so well with Charlotte’s business either, and they may lose their house.The purple mansion with the portal that they must protect. Charlie starts to discover that the weird events, and the pending doom of Charlotte’s store are connected. Now it’s up to him and Jack to save the nightmare world again, the waking world, and their home.
Charlie is now getting along with Charlotte, and is pretty happy with how things are. He and Charlotte even wrote a book together about the events that have happened. When he discovers that they might lose their home because they aren’t making enough money, he needs to find a way to stop it. Turns out that the reason is because their is a new shop in a close by town. The shop that is selling something to help make people not dream. It turns them into sleepwalkers and is also destroying the dream and nightmare worlds. Charlie of course knows it’s up to him to stop it. Along with his brother Jack. Charlie suffers a bit of jealousy in this book, but as a character he really did grow.
Jack is a big part of this book as well. He is also able to go through the portal to the nightmare realm. In fact, he frequently does. He is pretty fearless, and he actually enjoys going there and helping nightmares remember how to be scary. The only problem is, something in the tonic that is being sold in the waking world can only come from the nightmare world, and they start to think that it is Jack that has been taking it out. Jack is a fun kid. He doesn’t listen well, and he really has almost no fear. He’s smart for his age, and has a big heart. He is just a kid though, and sometimes he just has to act like one. Even in the worst of circumstances. Even though he puts on a brave face and isn’t scared most of the time, when it comes to the important task of saving the world, of course he is scared. I really loved getting to know Jack better. I hope to get to know him more in the next book.
This book was full of adventure and danger just as the first one was, but I loved how much everyone really worked together as a team. I enjoyed the friendships and the family aspect. And just as in the first book, there was a great underlying lesson too. Reading this series is like falling into a scary and fun adventure. What makes it better is that the characters seem like they are your friends helping you on the way. It was so easy to get lost in this and be hoping that everything turned out okay for everyone. I love when I care about the characters in a book that I am reading, and I am invested in their story and where it will go. This is such a fantastic series and I can’t wait to continue it when the next one comes out in 2016!
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