A fun and spooky read that'll keep middle graders on the edge of their seat. In Wolf fashion, the details are rich and the pacing quick! The perfect read to get reluctant readers excited and engaged!

This nearly brought me to tears 😭.
It was do sweet though, really enjoyed it!
The flow was great and I was intrigued to see how the story would progress.

Thank you so much to West 44 Books/ Rosen publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

What an unusual story, it certainly felt like a dream, it was dark and confusing and very eerie. Everett still mourning the loss of his best friend Noah starts dreaming of an alternate world to his, one with witches, portals, melting pizza men and dragons. Then finds Noah’s sister Callie is having the same dreams and soon the dream world warps into their reality.

This was really creatively made it takes you on such a journey, from not knowing which reality was right, was his dreaming still, was it the real waking world. Honestly you didn’t know through most of the story what was reality as it all warps itself together, which is what keeps you intrigued the whole time.

It also had so much heart to it with Noah’s death still be so present, the heavy feeling of both Everett and Callie, struggling to move on without him and avoiding each other in the waking world as it’s hard to be together. I loved that Noah was the connector between them in the dream world to helps untie them. He wanted them to still be friends, to still hang out with each other. It was very sad and very sweet, I did like how important Noah was to his best friends and how important they were to him.

This is a very unique verse book but was a really fun read, the characters were great, the mystery was intriguing and it was held together in a confusing dreamlike state forged by grief.

A great MG horror in verse, which has been very well done - the poetic style adds to the horror and is so much more than just layout, which you sometimes see with verse novels. Scary but appropriate for the younger audience. The story shows the mc working through his grief from the death of a friend through a nightmare world bleeding into our own. A hopeful ending. Really good.
Thank you for allowing me to read and review ahead of publication.

Nightmorne was an enjoyable middle-grade horror read. It is written in verse, which I feel made it even better and quicker to read. The story was dreamlike, and sometimes I was not sure if the events were occurring in dreams or in reality. The story follows Evert, who still hasn't gotten over his friend, Noah's death. Evert dreams of weird beings and places that suddenly appear in the real world. Callie, Noah's sister, is the only other person who has the same dream and experiences the same. Overall, it is an enjoyable read for middle-graders and R.L Stine's Goosebumps lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley, West 44 Books, Rosen Publishing Group, and Ryan Wolf for the opportunity to read Nightmorne in exchange for an honest review.

Nightmorne is a HiLo novel-in-verse. The story follows Everett, who lives a lonely life by day and haunting nightmares at night after the death of his best friend. It isn't fair that one perishes before they even have a chance to enjoy middle school.

Everett's dreams become more vivid, and as he begins to question the world around him, he knows one source that might be able to help him with the truth of reality: Noah's sister, Callie. The nightmares are more than a figment of the mind. Between Pizza Face Man, a sus neighbor, a witch, a dragon, and the vision of a dead best friend, there is certainly an odd assortment of nightmares to work through. Together, they share their grief at the loss of Noah and fight the nightmare reality in a new understanding of loss and moving forward.

This novel offers a fun paranormal magic realism with the characters in the world around them, but also acts as a metaphor for the effects of loss and grief on the psyche. It also shows newfound friendships and the shared collective that if one is grieving, it is likely they are not alone in their grief.

I find the title to be rather clever in many ways. While it is the title of a spell book in the novel, it is also a play on "nightmare," of which Everett has plenty, "mourning," but also "morning," like a new dawn after the nightmare is over. I could be reading too much into it, but I thought it had an important significance with a play on homonyms.

In a fun but harrowing way, Ryan Wolf does it again, offering a significant lesson through a thoughtful, vivid poetic craft that may be relatable for middle grade readers who have also lost a friend.

Nightmorne by Ryan Wolf is a dark, atmospheric work that blends elements of gothic horror and psychological fantasy. Written in verse, the novel leans heavily into poetic storytelling, using lyrical language and rhythm to shape both mood and narrative. This stylistic choice gives the book a distinctive voice, though it may not appeal to every reader.

The story centers on a brooding, haunted protagonist navigating a shadowy world filled with inner turmoil, eerie landscapes, and symbolic encounters. The plot unfolds more impressionistically than traditionally, prioritising emotion and theme over linear action. At its core, it explores grief, identity, and the pull between light and darkness within oneself.

One of the book’s strengths lies in its character work. The central figure is vividly drawn, with a strong emotional presence that carries through the poetic format. Ryan Wolf’s writing is clearly crafted with care—there’s a richness to the imagery and a deliberate attention to language that creates a haunting, immersive tone. Readers who enjoy introspective, stylistically bold works—particularly those who appreciate novels in verse—will likely find much to admire here.

That said, this wasn’t quite the right fit for me. While I can appreciate the skill behind the writing and the depth of feeling in the story, I struggled to fully connect with the verse format and the abstract nature of the plot. It’s very much a matter of personal taste rather than a reflection of the book’s quality.

Overall, Nightmorne is a thoughtfully written, evocative novel that will resonate with readers who enjoy poetic storytelling and dark, introspective themes—even if it wasn’t one that fully worked for me.

Thank you NetGalley, West 44 / Rosen Publishing, and author Ryan Wolf for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publishing date: June 16th, 2026

This is an interesting premise, with the ideas of a young man struggling with grief as his best friend has passed away while also facing strange, confusing horrors that are popping up in both his dreams and reality. However, I do have a few issues.

The first issue is in the writing. Poetry is a genre that I like, but in this case I almost wish prose has been chosen. Poetry is a powerful way to share feelings and moments, when it is a very episodic way to express things. In this case, with a single narrative that wants to follow a given order with pacing, poetry is not as powerful a way to share that. We don't see the relationships between the Everett and other characters. Similarly, the horror could be better established with more information, since it isn't so much based on ideas of cosmic horrors or some great, unknowable power.

That horror is the source of the other major issue I have with this book. The idea of terrifying dreams that seep into the real world is a great premise, and one that could make a really cool story for middle grades readers. But this book also incorporates some of the random humor elements that are seen in middle grades - ideas like the pizza faced man, and that humor gives too much comic relief as a reccuring character. While some humor is needed, and I can see the value of using humor that is familiar to the meme loving minds of many young readers, I feel like it shows up too often, interrupting the tension before it can build to true horror. I am not sure I would give this book to a student who loves horror - I am more willing to give it to those drawn toward black comedy, which the marketing doesn't at all push toward.

For all these issues, there are some things I like. The HI/LO elements of this book are well done, with the text never feeling too young or condescending for middle grades readers. The story is also very appropriate for the age group, and the major advantage of the choice to use poetry is that there isn't an intimidating number of words on the page - without the book looking like a kid's book. With these ideas in mind, I would certainly hand this book to plenty of my students - I just might not be tempted to pick it up again for myself.