Nightmorne

by Ryan Wolf

160 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2026

About the author

Ryan Wolf is the author of the young adult novels Watches and Warnings, Control Room, The Real Unreal, Songs for the Offseason, and Doubling the Bounty. He also crafted the Creepy Critter Keepers chapter book series for children, as well as Moving Through Walls, The Memory Vampires, Darkness at Dreamer Mountain, Rulers of a Dead Planet, and Nightmorne for middle-grade readers. Wolf’s work has been recognized by the Junior Library Guild, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Reviews

[Caz (Underlined) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself was great. The entire thing is nightmare fuel, and I think that aspect of it was done really, really well. I got chills reading about Mrs. Fitzsimmons and her house changing to mirror the nightmare house.

The page design was also really nice, and I would have loved to have seen more of the light to dark element. That kind of thing always upped the spook factor for me as a kid; turn the page and BAM everything is different.

I initially chose this book because of its description as a "hi/lo middle grade title written in verse format." I'm always on the hunt for stories that will interest the kids, the summary sounded sufficiently angsty, and the fact that it was written in verse just added to my excitement. I was a bit disappointed to find that it wasn't rhyming verse, and while I definitely believe that not everything has to rhyme, it seemed like an odd choice to omit it in a story that's been labeled for a younger audience. Additionally, the stanzas read less like a leisurely stroll, and more like hopscotch, if that makes sense; as if each break was intended to be a page turn in an Early Reader book.

All in all, it was a quick, enjoyable read once I stopped trying to find any rhythm or flow to the text and just read it straight, though I would have loved something with a more lyrical quality.

[Alu · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kathleen Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of an advance copy from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and Rosen Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Nightmorne was a very strange and creepy story about a young girl suffering from loss, who accidentally brings her nightmares to reality. It was super eerie but I also couldn’t stop reading it because I needed to know what happened.

[Hard Boiled · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost cried 😭
This was so sweet though!