The Nighthouse Keeper is the second book in the Blight Harbor series. I fell in love with Evie in The Clackity. She brave, determined, and bold. The imagination from book one flows over into book two. Evie Von Rathe has been home for only a few weeks from her adventure in the strange world of seven houses when Blight Harbor's beloved ghosts begin to disappear. Did they leave without saying goodbye, or has something gone horribly wrong? Soon Evie is invited to a mysterious council meeting, where she learns about the Dark Sun Side and a terrible secret. Yes, the ghosts have gone missing. And that means serious trouble.

With the help of an eleven-year-old (or 111-year-old, but who's counting) ghost named Lark, trusty Bird, and a plump ghost spider, Evie must find a way to defeat the vicious Nighthouse Keeper responsible for the missing ghosts, save her otherworldly friends, and find her way home from the Dark Sun Side before she's trapped there forever.

I like this sequel to The Clackity, but I found it to be a little more of the same, which makes sense, this is a very specific genre that requires a pretty basic Hero's Journey format. That didn't take away from the descriptions and language that Senf used to have Evie move through the Dark Sun Side. There were some cool ideas and images and I appreciate the way that the story is being built upon, the story of Evie and Blight Harbor, and of course her missing parents. I know that this will end with her looking for her parents, and probably finding them, but like I said, it's an appreciated genre of young adult lit that needs to work a certain way to make sense and keep readers reading. I have had Lora Senf come to my school to speak and she was awesome and I wish her the greatest success in her writing. And I recommend that any fan of Gaiman or books like Coraline read this series. You'll appreciate the homage paid and the setting and descriptions used. It's a good one.

The Nighthouse Keeper was a delightfully scary sequel to The Clackity. I loved it as an adult and am excited to recommend it to my middle grade patrons (and adults...). I am grateful that the author chooses to emphasize Evie's mental health. Fingers crossed there will be a third!!

In this follow up to The Clackity, when the ghosts of Blight Harbor go missing from their homes, Evie Von Rathe sets off to investigate and accidentally ends up on the Dark Sun Side again, despite her promises to her Aunt Des to stay away. She encounters Portia, an evil spirit who gives Evie a challenge to satisfy that will allow her to return home again. Evie and her tattoo buddy Bird work with a young ghost named Lark to battle an assortment of scary supernatural threats and creatures to reach the eerie and distant Nighthouse and rescue the missing ghosts by reuniting them with their souls. Once again Evie demonstrates her bravery and problem-solving skills in the face of challenges and surprising twists and turns. She is a fabulous strong female lead who manages her own anxiety while demonstrating how much she cares about others.

The Nighthouse Keeper is spooky and fun read-- scary without being gory and perfect for middle grade readers looking for something creepy. Community and family remain at the heart of the book, even with its horror elements. Fans of The Clackity will be excited to read this and follow along on Evie’s next journey and will be thrilled with the book’s ending, which sets up the next book to answer lingering questions raised in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of the book to read and review.

Lora Senf’s sophomore publication is just as spooky and shiver-inducing as The Clackity. Her characters, plot, and description are all honed to perfection. After reading The Nighthouse Keeper, I’m really hoping that Senf has plans to dive into the adult horror genre because man, her imagination is astounding!

Scary books abound for the grades 4-8 reader, but Lora Senf’s series starter The Clackity is one that will keep readers thinking as they solve the mysteries of the 7 houses that protaganist Evie must work her way through and The Nighthouse Keeper will also challenge their logical minds to puzzle through the world on the other side of ours. The creepy characters are somewhat gruesome in description and soul-stealing often results in death, but these are no “slash ‘em and gash ‘em” books designed to simply shock and awe students. Senf’s world-building and Evie’s backstory are detailed and interwoven in such a way that I can only imagine her bulletin board filled with notes so that she keeps the continuity sound throughout books 1 and 2 and leaves no doubt that book 3 is coming. Evie has been through a nightmare with her first experience on the Dark Sun Side and hopes never to meet up with The Clackity or anyone like John Jeffery Pope again. Her beloved Aunt Des has been restored and the two of them are closer than ever when large numbers of house ghosts in Blight Harbor begin to disappear and it is too many to simply be their time to “move on.” With one of the missing being Florence, her best friend’s house ghost, Evie sets out to solve the mystery and again finds herself alone, except for her ever-present (and moving) tattoo friend Bird, in a place where things don’t always follow the usual laws of physics or even good sense. New character Portia is just as evil as The Clackity or Pope and even turns out to have ties to Evie’s family and ghost Florence and so does not-quite-a-ghost Lark. Lots of loose ends establish themselves right from the start of this one and not all of them get tied up at the end but enough that readers should, overall, feel satisfied but excited to see what will come next for Evie, Bird, and Des in book 3. Text is free of profanity and sexual content but violence is present and the scare factor is high; just exactly what middle graders are looking for! Highly recommended. Can be read as a stand alone as references to events from book 1 will only intrigue those who haven’t read it, not confuse them.

Second book in the series and I enjoyed this one probably more than the first book. I like the world and I enjoyed new characters this time around. These are good middle school "spooky season" reads.

Ohhh-ohh this is such a good sequel! Evie accidentally gets herself trapped in the awful alternative universe from The Clackity. She made be just as scared but she’s also just as brave.

The Nighthouse Keeper is so creepy and just what I wanted from book 2 in the series. I love that Evie finds some helpful spirit friends along with super scary villains.

The ending has me anticipating the next book! It’s very satisfying, but also leaves some things undone to string readers along to the next adventure.

A terrific follow-up to The Clackity that keeps the charm of the original while fleshing out the world of the books. This book has an exciting plot with a relatable protagnoist, and lots of heart. Spooky but not too scary for middle grade readers. Perfect for fans of Coraline (and the author is clearly a fan as well)!

Review:
Evie Von Rathe has only been home for a few weeks since her last adventure in Blight Manor but soon finds that she has to go on another one and discover what is happening to the ghost community! This is the second book in the series and its a great paranormal middle grade series. The books include spooky artwork and it's a fun adventure that would make a great read for the autumn time!

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Atheneum Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*