Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

This book was overall fun and very true to the vibes of the Nightmare Before Christmas. If you love the movie, I’d definitely recommend it. I do have a few small issues with it, but they’re mostly minor things.

For one, it’s very repetitive. Throughout the book, Sally is trying to grapple with her feelings about being a queen. She doesn’t feel like a queen, and being suddenly treated as one is difficult for her. This is r e a l l y beat over your head throughout the book. And the way she finally seems to accept her role as a queen?

by ‘meeting’ queen elizabeth II… I really was not prepared for the sudden praise of the english monarchy there. Lol so out of left field. Could’ve done without that

Second, I felt like Sally was overly timid and clingy towards Jack. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen the movie, and I do remember her being somewhat timid, but I remember her being much more confident and independent than she is in this book.

This isn’t a complaint for me personally, but despite this being marketed as YA, it has a strong middle grade feel to me. I think the romance element is the only thing making it YA, as it would’ve felt a bit out of place for middle grade (though it’s still very PG of course).

The reveal about the villain’s motives at the end is a good example of this. I didn’t mind it, because it felt very in line with this over the top world, but it was very silly and middle grade esque.

Sally being chill with everyone being asleep for even a second made no sense, and when she met her parents she accepted potentially never saving Jack and everyone else way too easily.

Another reviewer pointed out that the Dream Town residents’ fear of the sandman made no sense since he can’t put them to sleep and he already put everyone else to sleep, which I somehow didn’t even question when I read the book but now is glaringly obvious…

As a disabled person I’m always irritated by the disabled villain trope, and the character of Dr. Finkelstein already annoys me for this reason. In this book we find out he’s even worse than we already knew him to be in the movie, and I would’ve preferred if he was just wasn’t in the book that much rather than doubling down on that trope. Of course it’s not like they could’ve made him a good guy when we already know he’s terrible, but to further add to it was unnecessary imo.

To end on a positive note, I did appreciate the casual queer rep, brief as it was.

Content Warnings

britwalsh16's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a fun little read! It’s a nice twist on the original movie & seeing what could have happened after The Nightmare Before Christmas. This story follows Sally (who is my favorite character in the book), and it gives me more insight into her mind & who she is; all while she figures that out for herself throughout the book!
And the idea of Jack & Sally having kids sometime in the future makes my heart giddy! Baby Rag Dolls & Skeletons! Yes Please! I want to read that book next!! Haha
Definitely worth the read for fans of the movie!

Content Warnings

ashes_book_cave's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

lorraine19's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.75

This book did fall into the typical issues of young adult books of having points that were somewhat predictable and rushed, but forgivable because it was honestly just a fun book. The imagery is absolutely amazing and is added in a way that doesn't feel like the author is just describing something. It really pulls you in and makes you feel like you're there (without contracting Tim Burton's world). The story itself is inspiring, speaking on self discovery and empowerment. Overall, would recommend for anyone looking for an easy, enjoyable read.

Content Warnings

drippingchiffon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

ilaxaria's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

jadejade's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

There are some interesting ideas here. For example, I really liked how in the end

Sally is literally made the stuff of nightmares and dreams

).

Unfortunately the novel did not work for me:
* The story didn't really get interesting for me until about halfway through.
* I was waiting for

Sally's parents to be revealed to be a dream but, no, apparently we're sticking with the kidnapping explanation

.
* I was utterly dumbfounded by the cameo of

Queen Elizabeth II

, and I cannot understand why she is identified by name (I would have been fine with alluding to her) and why several pages are devoted to praising her.

I love the movie that inspired this middle grade novel ... Maybe that's the issue. Anyway, I clearly wasn't the right reader.

Content Warnings

melsage1823's review against another edition

Go to review page

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
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎉🎉🎉

Content Warnings

More...