Word Spelunking

Robert Gray's Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks (book one in The Nightmare series) was one of my favorite MG reads last year and I had been eagerly awaiting the release of the second book all summer. And it turns out Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows is even more awesome and fun than the first book!After the events on Halloween, when Eve and her friends came face to face with The Source and his buggy minions, life has been rather boring in the human world. But then Eve is summoned back to Gravesville for a meeting with the Director of URNS, who happens to be Death himself, the Grim Reaper. Death gives a Eve a new job to find the Book of Shadows and a new annoyingly perfect URNS agent protector, Jasmine. The search for the book takes Eve and her friends all the way to New York City where they must battle The Source's creepy new mutations and even The Source himself. Life for Eve just got adorably, but kinda horribly, exciting!Robert Gray's The Nightmare Series is definitely one of my favorite new MG series! Like the first book, Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows is full of such thrilling, wacky and creeptastic fun, absolutely horrible (remember, horrible means awesome) characters, all of which Gray captures with a perfect middle-grade voice.Gray is a spectacular and spooktacular storyteller! The story he weaves in both book one and in Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows will captivate readers of all ages from beginning to end. The book is full of laugh-out-loud-make-you-gigglesnort funnies, with an awesome dose of sassy and sarcasm. I love how Gray manages to add the perfect mix of dark and whimsy to his story, creating an atmosphere and world that is charmingly creepy and enchantingly eerie. And best of all, the story is spooky and kooky, but still absolutely appropriate for all readers.Full of wicked cool imagination, Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows is stuffed full of all things awesome, unusual and the supernatural...like a Sweet Transformation Party (think a Sweet 16 for a teenage werewolf), zambpires (zombie+vampire), werebies (werewolf+zombie), horribly unique Black Friday decorations, and an annoyingly perfect succubus who has ALL the boys under her spell. The fun and horrible weirdness never stops!I just adore my horrible girl Eve! I love her spot on sarcastic, honest, and endearing teenage voice; her witty observations; and her courage, loyalty and thirst for adventure. Eve's three human friends, Carly Beth; Lucy; and Steve, really shine in this book and I just love the genuine and loyal friendship and love between this foursome. Death is such an intriguing, enamoring, and totally surprising character. Now, everyone knows I LOVE a great villain, and The Source is a fantastically chilling and entertaining villain.Eve's search for the Book of Shadows takes her and her friends to NYC and on a fast-paced, adventure full of zampbires, werebies, and an OMGgasp-worthy climactic confrontation with The Source. Like me, readers will be riveted by all the thrills, chills, and scary moments. And the surprises keep coming all the way to the final page and I, for one, can't wait to find out what happens next.MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I'm completely in love with this series and Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows is a fantastically and frightfully fun sequel! Readers of all ages looking for a spooktacular story full of awesome characters and stellar writing will definitely find what they're looking for in this series. A MUST read book in a MUST read series...perfect for some Halloween reading!