This doesn’t feel like the Sally that I know and love from the original movie. She just seems off. The story seemed really long and not too interesting, which is so disappointing given the wonderful place this story is set in. I feel like so much could have been done with this story and it felt like it was going nowhere.

I listened to the audiobook while reading along and some areas weren’t verbatim to the novel, which was odd. I did think the narrator did a nice job trying to grasp that voice and character of Sally but since I listen to this at a faster speed, the breaths really got to me, which was distracting.

Overall, I just can’t imagine a child’s attention being kept entertained while reading this.

Sally is new to being the pumpkin queen and isn't enjoying her new role as much as she thought. In the forest Zero and Sally uncover an ancient door and puts all of Halloween Town in danger. I did not want to put it down. I loved the ending and cannot wait to read it again.

5 stars

Jack Skellington has always been my favorite Disney character, so when I saw this book on NetGalley I jumped on it! What a fun book it was.

From Sally’s POV we pick up right after Jack and Sally’s wedding. Despite being so in love, Sally is having doubts as to whether or not she can live up to Halloween Towns expectations. Being a queen has never been her goal and she doesn’t know how to handle the extra responsibilities. Until she is forced to and has no one to rely on but herself.

I felt that the author did a really good job at capturing Sally’s personality in this book. It felt like a genuine continuation to The Nightmare Before Christmas. I really enjoyed Sally visiting all the other holiday lands it was fun to read about them when we didn’t get to see them in the movie.

One thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book was the narrator of the audiobook Cissy Jones. I get why she was trying to read and voice they way she did but I didn’t enjoy all of the theatrics of it. I found in distracting and not accurate to how I feel Sally would sound.

Thank you to #netgalley and #disneyaudiobooks for the recording of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I grew up loving Nightmare Before Christmas and this addition to the story was fantastic and a lot of fun.

📖 This story picks up soon after Jack and Sally marry at the end of the beloved Nightmare Before Christmas. This continuation focuses on Sally, the newly named Pumpkin Queen.

Sally experiences a great deal of imposter syndrome as the new queen of Halloween Town. After a lovely honeymoon to Valentine's Town, she realizes she doesn't want the fame or responsibilities that go along with this new life. All she wants is to spend quiet time with her love, Jack. In an attempt to escape from her new overwhelming life, Sally stumbles upon a long forgotten door to the mysterious Dream Town. Opening this door sends Sally on a whirlwind adventure across all the holiday towns in an attempt to save everything she knows, loves, and more.

🎧 Cissy Jones voices Sally Skellington and provides narration for this story, which is told from her point of view. Jones does a great job especially considering those are some pretty big shoes to fill, as Sally was originally voiced by the iconic Catherine O'Hara. Jones' performance is every bit ethereal and effervescent as I expected from Sally. It's truly a fantastic companion to the original story.

The Nightmare Before Christmas YA novel that you didn't know you needed!

This is Sally's time to shine. Soon after her wedding to Jack, she discovers a tree door that she's never seen before. When she goes to tell the town, everyone is fast asleep -- she can't wake them up. Now Sally is on a mission to save the town and stop the monster that came through the mysterious new door.

Long live the Pumpkin Queen is a fun addition to The Nightmare's cannon. I loved having a story all about Sally.
Also, it took me until well over half way through the story until I realized who the author was and then that made me like it even more.

"I am a ragdoll who married a skeleton king."

When you read a book from a favorite movie and you spend the majority of the time seeing it play out in your head, I think thats a pretty good sign. Its an even better sign when the book is a sequel of sorts to that favorite movie. Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is everything I'd love to have seen in a Burton film with Sally expertly personified. Ernshaw did a fabulous job.

Cissy Jones narrates Ernshaw's vivid venture into Sally's new life as Jack's Pumpkin Queen. Her voice was almost spot on with emotion and pitch even though Cissy felt more soft spoken than Catherine O'Hara was. Really an all around well done audio rendition that totally triggers the nostalgia of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

If I didn't know any better I would assume Ernshaw is a massive fan of Burton's work based solely off of the descriptive detail of original characters, the holiday
doors and the town. She kept the spark of Jack, shyness of Sally and each individualized personality trait of the other characters like the Mayor and the Witches. Like I mentioned, it was like watching the movie play out in my head.

Some of the deeper aspects of belonging and acceptance of her new role in Jack's life felt mentally repetitive. Not the inner monologue of who'd I expect Sally to be after the first movie. This didn't take too much away from the overall plot though. The path Ernshaw took to give more background to a beloved character was very well done.

If you're a Nightmare Before Christmas fan, this is a novel you'll want to get your hands on. Thank you Disney Press for the gifted audio in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

First line: At the crisp, inky hour of midnight, Jack and I are married atop Spiral Hill in the Death’s Door Cemetery.

Summary: Sally has married the skeleton of her dreams, Jack. She is now the Pumpkin Queen but she feels that maybe she is not cut out for the job. After their honeymoon, Sally decides to take some time alone where she stumbles upon a new door hidden in the tree grove. As her curiosity takes over, she discovers the door leads to Dream Town but with her actions she has let a monster loose on the other holiday towns. And now it is up to Sally to figure out how to stop the Sandman and wake the residents of Halloween Town.

My Thoughts: Only several years ago did I finally watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. It really is a fun movie. I liked the music but most of all the technique used to create the movie, stop animation. When I saw that a novelized version of what happens after was being released I thought it would be a fun read for the fall leading up to Halloween. And I did find it fun. A little more juvenile than I had originally expected but still a good little story. It brought all the characters from movie and added several new characters plus we got a peak into Sally’s background.

I enjoyed the narrator. She did a good job of mimicking the voice of Sally from the movie but also adding some the voices of other characters as well.

FYI: Definitely watch the movie, even just for the artistry of it.

I’m a huge nightmare before Christmas fan! I watch it at least twice every Halloween season. Jack and sally are one of my favourites couples ever. And when I seen a copy of this audiobook on netgally I jumped at the chance to listen and I wasn’t disappointed!! The way the author wrote this was so beautiful and descriptive!! I loved learning about all the different towns, and even more about sally!! We really see her come into her own in this book, at first she is terrified of being the queen of Halloween town feeling like that she is not fit for the job. But as the book goes on and she has to save not only Halloween town but the rest of the towns from an ancient sandman that she accidentally let lose. And even tho she wants to run and hide she knows she can’t let her beloved jack and town sleep forever. If you are a nightmare before Christmas fan don’t sleep on this book! I think it is great for all ages, and a story the whole
Family can love together!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in return for an honest review.

To be honest, I might be a little biased with my review because NBC is one of my favorite movies of all time. I decorated an entire room in a NBC theme.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is a peak into what happens next in the Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) realm. The story begins with the marriage of Jack and Sally, and Sally not being too keen on the idea of being Pumpkin Queen. Through a series of events, an ancient threat is set loose in Halloween Town, and everyone but Sally and Zero falls into a deep sleep. It's up to Sally to save the entire kingdom from an unwakeable slumber.

Sally is one of my favorite NBC characters, so I really enjoyed the story. The only thing about the novel that I disliked. One is that Sally kind of degrades herself and it's really harsh sometimes. In the movie (and this is my opinion), I thought she was extremely capable and confident in her thoughts and emotions. It's not like that with this story. However, I do have to say that it made me happy to see her more confident and loving herself towards the end of the story.

I do have to say that this is an extremely enjoyable journey through the NBC world. I had a lot of fun listening to the story and learning more about Sally. Also, I have to give a huge shoutout to the narrator. Their voice sounded a lot like Sally, and they were a lot of fun to listen to. They also made sure to inflect their tone and, if I'm remembering correctly, used different voices throughout the story.

If you love Nightmare Before Christmas as I do, you will not be disappointed! It is worth the listen or read.

This was a really fun read and I loved the expansion of the NBC world and characters. The audiobook was a bit grating because the narrator tries to mimic Sally's voice in the movie, which isn't a terrible job, but it was difficult to hear after a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC and audiobook.


Description from NetGalley:
Jack and Sally are "truly meant to be" ... or are they?
Sally Skellington is the official, newly-minted Pumpkin Queen after a whirlwind courtship with her true love, Jack, who Sally adores with every inch of her fabric seams -- if only she could say the same for her new role as Queen of Halloween Town. Cast into the spotlight and tasked with all sorts of queenly duties, Sally can't help but wonder if all she's done is trade her captivity under Dr. Finkelstein for a different -- albeit gilded -- cage. But when Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm called Dream Town in the forest Hinterlands, she'll unknowingly set into motion a chain of sinister events that put her future as Pumpkin Queen, and the future of Halloween Town itself, into jeopardy. Can Sally discover what it means to be true to herself and save the town she's learned to call home, or will her future turn into her worst... well, nightmare?

I loved Nightmare Before Christmas growing up, so I was excited when I saw this book was coming out. I think it is fun. I don’t think that I need it. It was nice to see Sally find out where in the holiday worlds she fits in now that she is the queen of Halloween. It was interesting to see how the different worlds are portrayed. It is well written. It just wasn’t quite what I as an adult was looking for. I enjoyed it but don’t think I’d reread it.

Overall: 3/5

I'd never been interested in The Nightmare Before Christmas until now. This story made the movie interesting to me, I guess? I loved how Sally found her place in her new position in life once she dug deep into who she was and what she was willing to fight for.

I was excited to see that we get to hear Sally's story. This one is filled self growth and discovery for Mrs. Sally Skeleton. Sally struggles with her new position as the pumpkin queen and the troubles that happens shortly after Jacks and Sally's honeymoon. This was a cute, quick read and I felt that this was more of a middle grade. However, I really did enjoy the book and the narration.



Thank you NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for this audiobook.

I love The Nighmare Before Christmas and was so excited to read Sally's story. Overall I thought it was a great read. I loved getting to see Sally grow into the Pumpkin Queen.

Throughout her journey she learns about where she came from, and how she, a ragdoll, is worthy of being Queen.

It was nice to get a glimpse into the other worlds. I think the author could've given us a little more in here instead of telling us a million times that Sally is a ragdoll.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

I cannot express how much I LOVED this. The feeling of childhood swept me away from the very beginning. Normally, a sequel leaves me wanting and disappointed but this one...was phenomenal. I liked as much...maybe slightly more than the original. 5/5! I need this as a movie !

As a long time fan of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and the movie part of my yearly tradition I went into this book on title mostly. I was pleasantly surprised by the story that unfolded since I often wondered if there was Santa and the Easter Bunny where there more doors to others like the Tooth-fairy, Sandman, and others that don’t typically have set holidays. This was a beautiful love letter to fan of the original story while expanding on the universe. I’m probably one of the few that from the moment seeing Sally felt a familiarity to myself and I didn’t think it was possible to feel any closer to her then after reading this book. This is certainly one that I will be getting a physical copy of for my shelf. Sally has always been on of my favourites because while she is sure in herself she feels that others around her might see otherwise which is how I feel most days. Thank you for giving a story to our Sally that makes her come to life even more and also makes her the hero of her own story.

While not from the mind of Tim Burton himself, the book does the world that he has built a lovely fan expansion that holds the same spirit and respect in my opinion.

The audiobook was beautiful narrated and love the touches of music in between chapters making it feel like an old on tape recording. The spooky and wonderful description of Jack and Sally’s wedding at the beginning had me hooked in for the rest of the (mis-)adventure.

I loved this book! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves The Nightmare Before Christmas. I read his book in the middle of summer, but I felt like it was autumn. The way the author incorporated different holidays were excellent too. In the beginning, I was a bit annoyed with the way the voice of Sally, but then I realized that that was how Sally talked in the movie. In that context, the narrator was great.

Are Jack and Sally truly meant to be?
Now the official Pumpkin Queen, Sally Skellington is having doubts. Sally loves Jack with all her seams, but she can't say the same for being Queen of Halloween Town. Now that Sally's free from Dr. Finkelstein, she has a lot more freedom; However, being Queen comes with a lot of responsibility. Thrown into the spotlight with endless duties, Sally wonders if she traded one cage for another. While traveling with Zero in the forest Hinterlands, she comes across a hidden door to an ancient realm called Dream Town. This discovery leads Sally to unknowingly set off a chain of events that will put her position as Queen, and the people of Halloween Town, in grave danger. Can Sally save herself and everyone she knows and loves? Or will Halloween Town never be the same again?
I absolutely loved this book and can't say it enough! I've never read anything by Shea Ernshaw before, but this has put her on my radar. I couldn't get enough of Sally's journey, only putting this book down when I absolutely had to. This book is filled with creativity, adventure, and surprises! I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Cissy Jones, did a phenomenal job portraying Sally. I felt like she sounded just like her! Even if you aren't the biggest fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, still give this a try. I don't dislike that movie, but it also isn't one I rush to put on and I LOVED this book. I would love to see another novel created, continuing the stories of all the different holiday towns. If you're a Disney fan, add this to your TBR ASAP!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Such a fun read for spooky season coming up. Sally’s origin story was everything I didn’t know I needed. I love every Shea Ernshaw book I’ve read and this was no exception.

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen picks up right after Jack and Sally were married. They take a quick honeymoon and Sally quickly begins to think she may not be cut out to be a queen. She goes for a walkabout to clear her head and discovers a hidden realm (Dream Town). Soon thereafter all of the people in Halloweentown are afflicted with a sickness of some sort and Sally is the only one who can save them all.

I loved chatting with Shea Ernshaw over in the @pelotonmomsbookclub earlier this year for her book A History of Wild Places and when she told me that she was working on a story for Disney that focused on Sally Skellington I was super excited because my kids LOVE The Nightmare Before Christmas.

A little doom and gloomy near the beginning with Sally's serious self-doubt. I enjoyed learning more about her past and her journey to self-acceptance. Shea's writing style is alive and well in the book. I felt transported into the heart of the world. This is a lovely companion piece to anyone who loved the original movie.

Special thanks to @netgalley for providing me with an ALC for review purposes. All opinions are my own.