Book Review: Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore by Christopher Lincoln

✰✰✰✰✰ Take a trip to the Dark Side with Billy Bones in his second supernatural adventure. This time around 10 year old Billy Bones Biglum and his niece Millicent Hues have their hearts set on a sea voyage aboard the Spurious II. However, they get sidetracked when Uncle Grim's head and Millicent's soul are captured by the evil Shadewick Gloom. To make matters worse, the world of the living has been suspended in time.

To save his friends, Billy transforms back into a skeleton boy and must somehow find a way into Nevermore, a nightmare place more feared than the Dark Side itself. Along the way, Billy meets up with his great-many-greats grandfather, the crafty and ghostly pirate called Glass-Eyed Pete. Together they hatch a fantastical plan to enter Nevermore and with a little luck rescue the captives. Meanwhile, when a Field Agent Down (F.A.D.) emergency is declared, Billy's skeleton parents, Lars and Decette Bones, rally all the skeletons together to assist in the search.

Will Billy and his comrades be able to save their friends in time and free all the prisoners trapped in Nevermore? Only time will tell. Billy must set things right before time starts again or all will be lost, including Millicent's soul.

The Bottom Line: Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore is fast-paced and action-packed with quirky, supernatural fun. The cast of eccentric characters combined with the values of friendship and loyalty make it the perfect choice for a quick summer read. Also, kids will love the gothic style illustrations throughout. Highly recommended for kids in grades 4 - 6.

Details: Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore by Christopher Lincoln. Hardcover published by Little, Brown and Company in 2009. 208 p. ISBN: 978-0-316-01475-5 NOTE: For more supernatural fun, don't forget to check out Billy's first adventure in Billy Bones: A Tale from the Secrets Closet (ISBN: 978-0-316-01473-1)