Hey everyone! Last time, I talked about how I was reading books I found in English class! This is just a continuum of last blog. But first, let’s review what things make me like a book, ’cause we can’t make me just pick out random books!
- Have horror as their genre (as in serial killers in realistic fiction and all)
- Start out as an action-adventure but then become a slice-of-life book (all of those missed opportunities!!!)
- Books (usually manga) that have a main protagonist who is REALLY OVERPOWERED and pretty much can get everything done perfectly (because what’s the point of going on adventures if you won’t grow from them?)
- Books that don’t put good use in a character’s potential (again, those missed opportunities!!!)
- Books that end on a cliffhanger/downer ending! Especially if they are standalone stories (why ruin the satisfaction of finishing a book anyway?)
So, with that, let’s talk about the book that I picked up during English class! I at first was hesitant to read it due to it having pictures but I fell into it anyway! And this is how it went…
The book focuses on eleven-year old Charlie Laird, who just moved to a big, creepy mansion in the town of Cypress Creek. Now, Charlie has always lived in Cypress Creek, but this move has changed his life more than he would like it to have!
You see, when he was only nine, Charlie’s mother died of a severe illness, so his father remarried a woman named Charlotte. However, Charlotte seems a bit suspicious to Charlie. For starters, she has a fat cat named Aggie who seems to hate his guts. Charlotte also likes to use herbs in almost everything, even in pancakes! And lastly, she has some weird drawings of creepy monsters…
Even worse to prove Charlie’s suspicions, every night, he gets these nightmares about this witch and her talking black cat, always tormenting poor Charlie in his sleep. This makes him get severe insomnia, which prevents himself from sleeping even though he really needs to. Doesn’t help that the witch looks a lot like Charlotte…
Then one day, the witch kidnaps his little brother, and he has to go through a world where everyone’s worst nightmares (literally!) can be found. Charlie then goes out to save him, but is the truth more hidden than it seems in this nightmare world? Find out in Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller‘s “Nightmares!”
The book itself is a charming read. The imagination in this story is as imaginative as nightmares are themselves! The illustrations in the book also make it very charming as well. The story had many twists and turns, and the cast was very charming; I liked how Charlie’s friend group at school has a girl who loves pink and is almost like a gossip girl, it puts a twist in the usual stereotypes that only tomboys are friends with guys.
The main reveal at the climax of the book was a real shock! It made me realize how the main protagonist can have doubts in their head that can actually be true! There also are two sequels that I want to read, but need to get my hands on to read them XD.
Overall: 10/10.
Seeya later!
– Nova S