Nightmare Island by Shakirah Bourne

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Josephine Against the Sea is one of my favorite middle grade books so of course I was eager to see what Shakirah Bourne had next.  Cue her MG horror novel Nightmare Island featuring some of the creepiest creatures in Caribbean mythology. Thank you to Scholastic and Shakirah Bourne for providing me a copy for an honest review.

Serenity is an aspiring filmmaker who is obsessed with horror films. Lately she's been having recurring nightmares but she keeps quiet about them to not cause trouble. When "perfect" child Peace starts having issues with the dark her parents whisk him off on a vacation without her. But not one to sit still and feeling like they're hiding something from her, Serenity jets off to the mysterious Duppy island behind them. There Serenity discovers that Peace is receiving treatments that have him acting different. Dr. Whisper's clinic isn't what it seems and her parents seem to be brainwashed. 

Shakirah Bourne makes a unique choice to have Serenity narrate as if she's in the process of filming the movie based on this tale. She even brings her camera along for the adventure, capturing footage along the way. As she goes through different events she mentions how she would score the film or where she would pause for dramatic effect.  Her knowledge of horror stories to help her figure out the plot but there are still plenty of twists. I thought that was something cool the young horror lovers would enjoy.

There's a great deal of work put into describing the different settings and characters. I enjoyed how she weaves mythology and history together. The descriptions of the douens are especially spine-tingling. And while it takes a little bit of time to set up the payoff is worth it.