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

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

"It was never Lock, Shock, and Barrel who did this, as I first thought. Everyone is asleep...because there is a monster in Halloween Town."
"You really had trouble with this book." my sister
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was so nice being able to see all these characters again in a sequel story to their 1993 movie. This new story - bringing us back to the land of holiday towns - worked as a whole, and its finer details were also nice reading. The King and Queen of Halloween Town - Jack and Sally Skellington - were so sweet together. We also get some more backstory on Sally and Dr. Finkelstein, which was a unique take. Something that bothered me a bit was how uncertain Sally was. I understand where she was coming from. Her whole life, she was made to believe she was a creation and nothing more. And all of a sudden, she's thrust into the position of Queen, and queens usually tend to be "someone." Additionally, she's thrust into doing things, wearing things, etc. that she normally hadn't done - and wasn't sure she wanted to do. (Even though she reiterates a few times that she doesn't regret marrying Jack, which is something she wanted.) There were parts that were hard for me to imagine - mostly Jack and Sally's honeymoon in Valentine's Town. But overall, I really enjoyed this book.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping

I do wish we had some more moments between Jack and Sally.

We're introduced to a new area of the forest of doors to the holiday towns, which holds doors leading to Dream Town, Father Time, the Tooth Fairy, etc. When Sally goes into Dream Town to learn more about the monster in Halloween Town (revealed to be the Sandman), you learn that she was the Governors' daughter, and was kidnapped when she was young. Who's her kidnapper, you ask? Dr. Finkelstein himself, when he was younger. (It makes me wonder how he ended up in the wheelchair - creation gone wrong, perhaps?)

Sally's parents' arc was also interesting. They knew about the Sandman. When he (Sandman) escaped Dream Town, he wreaked havoc on the holiday towns and the human world as a result of Sally leaving the door open accidentally. The first response of the Governors of Dream Town was to make sure he wouldn't get back into the Town through the door. When Sally decides she's going to go stop the Sandman, they reveal a second way that leads to the human world through the library. This is where we meet a sleeping Queen Elizabeth II, who gives Sally the boost of confidence she needs to be the Pumpkin Queen. And it turns out that all the Sandman needed was a good sleep for once.