Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw

    Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the many wicked and talented productions he has created. I’ve watched The Nightmare Before Christmas more times than I can count. Obsessed with all of the characters in Halloween Town, Sally was always a character I wanted to know more about. I was ecstatic to learn Shea Ernshaw had written her own take on Sally’s story. Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw, written in a first person dialog, explains what happens after Jack and Sally marry and she becomes the Pumpkin Queen. Sally Skellington is thrown into the spotlight of Pumpkin Queen and with that comes queenly duties. Overwhelmed, Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a doorway into an ancient realm to discover Dream Town. Little does Sally know, she left the doorway to Dream Town open and let a disturbing creature out. The creature would not only affect Jack, the skeleton she loves, but all of the people in Halloween Town. Sally’s journey to find answers is not an easy one. She will unveil new information about the creature and about herself. 

    The Nightmare Before Christmas was such an incredible film, the expectation to deliver any spin off is very high. Shea Ernshaw did a beautiful job telling Sally Skellington’s story. I really enjoyed how the story started. Time had passed, Jack and Sally were getting married on the crest of Spiral Hill. The same place where they had their first kiss. Two weeks away from Halloween, Sally is overwhelmed with her queenly duties and rushes out her and Jack's home. Unknowingly, she stumbles upon an ancient realm door with vines and dead branches twisted around the doorknob. As she untangles the branches and opens the door, she is greeted with scents of lavender and freshly brewed chamomile tea. The next part that happens to Sally is one of the worst situations imaginable. Sally wanted peace and quiet but unfortunately, that is exactly what she received. Just not in the way she could have ever imagined. The author does an exceptional job explaining the scent, background and feeling of each scene. The plot twist I definitely did not see coming. I remember gasping when I read a certain line to end one of the chapters. The story did have slow parts and areas where I felt needed a little more excitement. Nonetheless, I appreciate the way Shea Ernshaw took the story and created Sally’s journey to finding her true identity.

    Without giving any crucial information away about the characters, there are not as many new ones in this book. This story branches out from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sally, of course, is the main character. She has a knack for making potions and is a killer at design. I always thought Sally was timid but a bold character. Even in The Nightmare Before Christmas, she knew she had to do whatever it takes to stop and save Jack from making a mistake. In Love Live the Pumpkin Queen, she does the same, except she is fixing her mistake. Even with many obstacles standing in her way, Sally stopped at nothing to make everything right again. We also meet Queen Ruby Valentino who is none other than the Queen of Valentine Town. She is elegant, confident and a no-nonsense Queen. She possesses the traits Sally wished she had. Even though she does not have a big role in the story, she symbolizes a strong and powerful character, especially to Sally. Lastly, we meet the Governors of Dream Town, Greta and Albert. I do not want to go too much into detail with these two characters because they play a big part in the story. I grew to love them as the story went on because they have such a soothing and calmness about them. Hence, why they live in Dream Town. These are characters you can fall in love with and wish you can be a part of their world. 

    Overall thoughts and rating, I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the story of Sally and finding out her background through Shea Ernshaw’s eyes. There were moments where I felt the story dragged on and was lacking a bit of excitement. However, it was nostalgic to read about the characters of Halloween Town referenced as they were in the movie. The story picks up right where the movie left off, which was marvelous and ideal. I recommend this book as a light read and to anyone who wants to know where exactly Sally came from. Was she really created by Dr. Frankenstein or did she grow up in another realm? Give this book a try and let me know how you felt about it. 

Happy Reading!