A review by melsage1823
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ok as a huge Nightmare Before Christmas Fan I can say that it is certainly entertaining and I'm glad there's no racist caricature as a villain this time but as much as I disagree with some fans criticism I do have my own problems with the book meaning its rating for me has been bumped down. First of all apparently in Acknowledges Ermshaw mentions it wasn't her idea and it clearly shows as it sounds like a Nightmare Before Christmas fan has pulled out there own Fanfiction and suggested it to Burton. It feels like Ernshaw was way to overworked as certain parts that should have more build up and more detail have been completely rushed. Although I'm completely up for an accessible reading experience I don't think it should be at expense of the story. You can tell this book was rushed out carelessly due to the fact the fact that in the uk we have no Hard cover version and the paperback version has a terrible lazy cover. Overall it would have been much better as a YA 500 pages as it would have felt like a proper sequel rather than give Sally a character because mysoginstic men wrote her. I'm not woke i just want female characters written well.

Moving onto the positives I can say that Sally's personality is way less one dimensional and so much more developed than she was in the film. When you actually take the time to put effort into writing a character like Sally she has a really inspiring story. The idea she was Kidnapped instead of made makes you understand why she's so desperate to escape abusive situations and you end happy for her when she meets her parents. I also liked having Sandman as a villian as normally the Sandman in media is a hero so I liked switching up and seeing what happens when the Sandman is dream hungry. Also no Ernshaw's writing is absolutely beautiful and the way she describes the holiday towns especially Valentine's Day Town and Dream Town. 

Overall despite its flaws I really enjoyed the further development of the nightmare before christmas lore and the slight world building. I'm also thankful that Sally has a character because as someone with anxiety I felt like I could really relate to her struggles. If you however are wanting a slow developed book that continues directly on from the movie and doesn't act so wild and fantastical with wild lore changes I would just stick to A03.

Mel's Rating: 4 Stars/ 7.5 Out Of Ten
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎉🎉🎉
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