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dandelionsteph's review against another edition
3.0
It had a small amount of ending fatigue, and while the scary things are original and probably well-executed, I simply never become scared from things I read in books.
Otherwise, it was a good read. Other than the horrors and the source of the horrors, I cannot recall anything notable of it, but it seems original.
The one time any character thinks of calling for help on a cell phone, it's dead. (Typical horror genre response, though I suppose more original than 'no signal', which is quite common in post-2003 horror movies.)
Otherwise, it was a good read. Other than the horrors and the source of the horrors, I cannot recall anything notable of it, but it seems original.
The one time any character thinks of calling for help on a cell phone, it's dead. (Typical horror genre response, though I suppose more original than 'no signal', which is quite common in post-2003 horror movies.)
iilex's review against another edition
2.0
I've been reading a lot of middle grade horror/ghost stories lately and Dan Poblocki's books looked right up my alley. You have to admit - the cover art is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the story itself...wasn't so much.
Even if I haven't been thrilled with all of them, almost all of the middle grade books I've been reading lately have been fairly well-written (and some were crafted extremely well). The Nightmarys had really bad writing, in my opinion, and that was the main problem with this book. I found myself having trouble understanding what was going on while reading and while I at first blamed it on being tired, I quickly realized the problem was the writing. It's weirdly choppy, contains too many clauses, and didn't altogether make sense. I was surprised that this book could have gotten past an editor and was published by a well-known publishing house. You'd think they'd have fixed a little at least...There were multiple problems going on here. The dialogue was laughably bad and unbelievable. And then we have the plot. The main thread of the story was interesting - involving a cursed relic that allows its bearer to control the fears of others. The problem was that there were so many threads that the story completely unraveled. It was a little hard to follow and I wonder if a kid could actually follow it all either.
One of the strangest things about this book was realizing that the "Nightmarys" didn't fit with the plot at all and were mostly irrelevant. But that's the title! And the cover art! But why would the jawbone from an ancient tribe have seemingly Victorian-type ghosts protecting it? Huh? My first thought was that the title "Nightmarys" must have come first with the story following. Reading the acknowledgement at the end made me realize was that I wasn't far off - the author had a "dream" about ghostly little girls and that was the kickoff for the rest of the story. Apparently his original idea got away from him a little, because if you read The Nightmarys you'll see how irrelevant these ghost girls are. It's too bad, because creepy ghost girls are always interesting. What we have instead is a convoluted ghost story with too much happening all at once.
As you can tell, I was not impressed. The Nightmarys was a lot scarier than other middle grade stories I've read lately, so that was a plus (for me). I don't go into a middle grade horror book expecting or even wanting to be scared, but I'm always pleasantly surprised if the author manages to make a book creepy enough to bother adults a little. It wasn't overly scary or anything, but even I felt a chill creep up my spine at some of the imagery (the prelude and interludes were definitely the best parts here). I can see 11 to 14-year-old boys really eating this up. A sensitive child may be overly frightened, however - so proceed with caution. A teen older than 14 probably wouldn't enjoy this much, so ignore those who have tagged this as "young adult." This is a solidly upper middle grade read. And as for grown persons - I'd skip this. There are plenty of superior middle grade horror stories out there and there's no reason to read this one. It's too bad, because I really expected I'd like this. Oh well. 2 out of 5 stars.
Even if I haven't been thrilled with all of them, almost all of the middle grade books I've been reading lately have been fairly well-written (and some were crafted extremely well). The Nightmarys had really bad writing, in my opinion, and that was the main problem with this book. I found myself having trouble understanding what was going on while reading and while I at first blamed it on being tired, I quickly realized the problem was the writing. It's weirdly choppy, contains too many clauses, and didn't altogether make sense. I was surprised that this book could have gotten past an editor and was published by a well-known publishing house. You'd think they'd have fixed a little at least...There were multiple problems going on here. The dialogue was laughably bad and unbelievable. And then we have the plot. The main thread of the story was interesting - involving a cursed relic that allows its bearer to control the fears of others. The problem was that there were so many threads that the story completely unraveled. It was a little hard to follow and I wonder if a kid could actually follow it all either.
One of the strangest things about this book was realizing that the "Nightmarys" didn't fit with the plot at all and were mostly irrelevant. But that's the title! And the cover art! But why would the jawbone from an ancient tribe have seemingly Victorian-type ghosts protecting it? Huh? My first thought was that the title "Nightmarys" must have come first with the story following. Reading the acknowledgement at the end made me realize was that I wasn't far off - the author had a "dream" about ghostly little girls and that was the kickoff for the rest of the story. Apparently his original idea got away from him a little, because if you read The Nightmarys you'll see how irrelevant these ghost girls are. It's too bad, because creepy ghost girls are always interesting. What we have instead is a convoluted ghost story with too much happening all at once.
As you can tell, I was not impressed. The Nightmarys was a lot scarier than other middle grade stories I've read lately, so that was a plus (for me). I don't go into a middle grade horror book expecting or even wanting to be scared, but I'm always pleasantly surprised if the author manages to make a book creepy enough to bother adults a little. It wasn't overly scary or anything, but even I felt a chill creep up my spine at some of the imagery (the prelude and interludes were definitely the best parts here). I can see 11 to 14-year-old boys really eating this up. A sensitive child may be overly frightened, however - so proceed with caution. A teen older than 14 probably wouldn't enjoy this much, so ignore those who have tagged this as "young adult." This is a solidly upper middle grade read. And as for grown persons - I'd skip this. There are plenty of superior middle grade horror stories out there and there's no reason to read this one. It's too bad, because I really expected I'd like this. Oh well. 2 out of 5 stars.
asylumteaparty's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't the creepiest horror novel ever, but it was a surprisingly good who-dunnit mystery.
madisonderoo's review against another edition
2.0
One I’m an adult so maybe reading this was stupid but I did it anyway. But the name of the book should have been different. Yes there was nightmarys but that wasn’t the actual plot ya know.
leia3771's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome book, loved the way it was written. It was a light read, but not too light and in all I loved it VERY GOOD!
cactusrae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
missie_bee's review against another edition
3.0
http://www.theunreadreader.com/2010/08/nightmarys-arc-review.html
I'm really struggling to know what to say about this book. Although the cover art (which totally drew me in) and even the book title are rather intriguing, I really can't say I felt the same way about the story. Maybe it would have resonated better with its target audience, but I've read many a YA book before, and I can't quite place my finger on why I found this book to be rather drabbish.
The book summary pretty much tells you all you need to know. Two middle school kids, Timothy and Abigail are having living nightmares. Timothy's involve his brother and a shadowy figure, and Abigail's revolve around two girls named Mary that used to pick on her at her old school. Soon they discover that they must team up to help save each other from their worst dreams.
There seemed to be a lot of foreshadowing that pretty much lead you to the predictable conclusions, especially surrounding the mystery of why the nightmares where affecting the people in the story. While it took the characters a bit longer to figure it out, I didn't find enjoyment in unraveling the clues before they did. For mysteries, I prefer being along for the ride, not leading it.
I know the story is intended to be a mystery/thriller, but I also felt like maybe some comic relief was needed to keep things fresh and moving along. It all its outlandishness, the story just fell a little flat for me. I suppose one scene in which a graffiti dragon became animated and attacked Timothy was meant to provide something different, but I still couldn't find it very exciting. Again, maybe a grade school student reading this book would.
Overall, quick read with some great descriptive elements, but not as fun to read as I hoped it would have been.
I'm really struggling to know what to say about this book. Although the cover art (which totally drew me in) and even the book title are rather intriguing, I really can't say I felt the same way about the story. Maybe it would have resonated better with its target audience, but I've read many a YA book before, and I can't quite place my finger on why I found this book to be rather drabbish.
The book summary pretty much tells you all you need to know. Two middle school kids, Timothy and Abigail are having living nightmares. Timothy's involve his brother and a shadowy figure, and Abigail's revolve around two girls named Mary that used to pick on her at her old school. Soon they discover that they must team up to help save each other from their worst dreams.
There seemed to be a lot of foreshadowing that pretty much lead you to the predictable conclusions, especially surrounding the mystery of why the nightmares where affecting the people in the story. While it took the characters a bit longer to figure it out, I didn't find enjoyment in unraveling the clues before they did. For mysteries, I prefer being along for the ride, not leading it.
I know the story is intended to be a mystery/thriller, but I also felt like maybe some comic relief was needed to keep things fresh and moving along. It all its outlandishness, the story just fell a little flat for me. I suppose one scene in which a graffiti dragon became animated and attacked Timothy was meant to provide something different, but I still couldn't find it very exciting. Again, maybe a grade school student reading this book would.
Overall, quick read with some great descriptive elements, but not as fun to read as I hoped it would have been.
katiegrrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2016 - Read a horror book