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May Bird #2
May Bird Among the Stars
May Bird has always been a bit...different. While most of her classmates were riding their bikes, she was running around the woods dressed as a warrior princess with her hairless cat at her side. And instead of spending summer vacation at birthday parties, May was discovering a mysterious lake hidden among the trees -- and stumbling into the land of ghosts, the Ever After.
A fearful and fantastic realm located among the stars, the Ever After is full of all manner of things that go bump in the night. And if May is to find her way out again, she must reach the mysterious Lady of North Farm, who lives in a cold, forbidding land that even the spooks find spooky.
With her courageous (yet melancholy) kitty and a ragtag group of spectral friends she's picked up along the way, May is determined to escape the Afterlife. But first she must face her very worst fears, and there's no telling who will make it through...or who will be left behind.
A fearful and fantastic realm located among the stars, the Ever After is full of all manner of things that go bump in the night. And if May is to find her way out again, she must reach the mysterious Lady of North Farm, who lives in a cold, forbidding land that even the spooks find spooky.
With her courageous (yet melancholy) kitty and a ragtag group of spectral friends she's picked up along the way, May is determined to escape the Afterlife. But first she must face her very worst fears, and there's no telling who will make it through...or who will be left behind.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
98 people are currently reading
1817 people want to read
About the author
Jodi Lynn Anderson
43 books1,786 followersI write strange and mythical stories about young people.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
May 7, 2020
revisiting some childhood favorites while in my childhood home is Lit Rally therapy luv
July 3, 2013
just as great as book one- maybe even better. Somber Kitty, my absolute favorite character, is with the group for the whole book this time, adding so many fun moments to the plot. This is such a creative and inventive story, I don't really see how to describe exactly what I liked without also using mega amounts of spoilers- so i'm not even going to try. I'll leave it at this: By this series for every child that you know. And then buy another copy for yourself- so that when those kids accidentally spill juice on their copies, you still have a nice, non-sticky copy all for yourself.
February 6, 2018
"Among the stars,"by Jodi Lynn Anderson is definitely a read to remember. An amazing story about a very brave girl, May Bird, and her little kitty, Somber Kitty, who strive to reach their beloved home in Briery Swamp, West Virginia. May made one terrible mistake risking her and kitty's life. Over summer, she decided to discover a mysterious lake hidden among the trees near her home. Unfortunately that night was her last night with her loving mother, her life, her everything. Everything flashing quick, everything left behind, she stumbled into Ever After, world of ghosts. World of dangers. World of fears. Only way to escape these ghosts, dangers, and fears was to make her way to a cold, forbidding land, that even ghosts find spooky. May and Somber Kitty had to reach Lady of North Farm, and even they were unsure of her kindness and her brutlness. Reaching here was too difficult but with help of spectral people, nothing could stop them. Even these people had to find there beloved people, but there people could only be found in world of Ever After. Every one had to get to this terrifying and spooky land and each with there own threateners and risks. Story's mystery defines failures and finders.
Personally this story is amazing and definitely better then first book in this trilogy. Although in the beginning it was a little slow, in the middle it started catching up really quick. Due to its many small details that stick to your mind, it was definitely a book that you could not forget. It had a very suprising and intense ending. It left me curious to go on in the trilogy.
Overall, this book was really good, but at times super slow. May was my favorite character because even through hardships, she led her friends and didn't let anything get into her way. She faced difficulties but never looked back. Author, Jodi Lynn Anderson did a super good job capturing the readers mind to read even more. I read more and more and couldn't stop reading. I would highly recommend this book to other people, but warn them about the beginning, since it was very slow and not very captivating.
Personally this story is amazing and definitely better then first book in this trilogy. Although in the beginning it was a little slow, in the middle it started catching up really quick. Due to its many small details that stick to your mind, it was definitely a book that you could not forget. It had a very suprising and intense ending. It left me curious to go on in the trilogy.
Overall, this book was really good, but at times super slow. May was my favorite character because even through hardships, she led her friends and didn't let anything get into her way. She faced difficulties but never looked back. Author, Jodi Lynn Anderson did a super good job capturing the readers mind to read even more. I read more and more and couldn't stop reading. I would highly recommend this book to other people, but warn them about the beginning, since it was very slow and not very captivating.
May 30, 2024
Sooo good! The suspense in the first and second books is wonderful, the author’s attention to detail and her skill in world building made for a beautiful story. Would 100% recommend.
February 15, 2017
It's a really good book, I like it as much as the first one.
August 21, 2017
I started this book a while back and things got away from me. Life just got a little busy. I still adore this series and am starting the third book as soon as I'm finished here.
I love that these are so easy to read and come back to. May is an amazing character that just about any young adult can relate to and find inspiration in, and grows as each book progresses. I will always always always recommend this series to people looking for books for their kids or even for themselves if they just want a cute, easy read. I'm very much enjoying this as my break from the larger, more intense books on my list.
I love that these are so easy to read and come back to. May is an amazing character that just about any young adult can relate to and find inspiration in, and grows as each book progresses. I will always always always recommend this series to people looking for books for their kids or even for themselves if they just want a cute, easy read. I'm very much enjoying this as my break from the larger, more intense books on my list.
April 1, 2008
I enjoyed this one more than the first. There was a lot of action; I was already into the story so it didn't take three chapters to get going; it was humorous there are all these ads for the dead all over the place; and it had a satisfying ending with the promise of further adventures in the Ever After. I loved Pumpkin and Somber Kitty, and I like the strong sparkly warrior May Bird is becoming. Good read for girls and boys.
August 3, 2007
I liked the first one of this series well enough to pick up the second book, but I waffle on giving it three stars. Anderson lost momentum toward the end and I doubt that I'll bother to pick up the third book.
April 1, 2008
This is a fun little series to pick up for some light reading. All about a outcast girl finding her heroic strengths in a comedic world of the dead.
April 28, 2008
Another Therilling adventure!
September 20, 2023
The sequel was better than the first book!! ^_^ Witty, exciting and emotional! The more traumatic horror elements that gave me pause in the first book were eliminated in favor of more cinematic horror monsters, and the dreamscape storytelling evolved into something a little more linear. Still an odyssey, still spooky Wizard of Oz vibes, but the dangers were more impactful, the world more visceral. Even the secondary characters each get a hero moment or an arc moment, some meaningful highlight. May's character arc is impressive, literally sinking into the depths of Despair before climbing her way back out to defend her friends, every inch a hero as she faces all of the horrors that have plagued her for two books. There is an amazing convergence of evil forces at a disco, and a fight scene set to "Staying Alive". You can see the potential Netflix adaptation right there, the book sings!
Unfortunately, I did knock off one star: Half for goofy cat antics and half for redundancy/tropes.
Let's start with the cats...
In the first book, it was obvious that Somber Kitty was based off of a real, beloved cat. But his ample page time was charming, very Homeward Bound; you don't have to be a cat lover to sympathize with the relationship between A Kid and her Pet, hearts and fates entwined no matter the distance between them. But in this sequel, for some bizarrro reason, Kitty was given a demonic cat nemesis, Commander Berzerko, who is an annoying, goofy distraction that eats up WAY too much of this very short book. Berzerko is a Crazy Cat Person's idea of funny: Cute on the outside, diabolical on the inside, the frizzing and whizzing of an angry cat indicative of paranormal powers. Her rivalry with Kitty is unnecessary, it doesn't serve May's arc or the duo's journey home. If anything, Berzerko cheapens Kitty, turning him into a cartoon: They literally get into a karate match! I could believe that Berzerko is also based off of a real life puffball, and that the author had fun hyperbolically describing a real squabble between her pets. But it had no business here. Maybe as a bonus chapter in a B&N exclusive edition, maybe. Maybe as one silly chapter near the end, to take some of the terror out of the big confrontation. But not as a running gag throughout the ENTIRE book. If books came with Skip buttons, I would have been happy to Skip all the Berzerko scenes, I wouldn't have missed anything important.
The other half star is about the ease with which our characters get out of danger. This book is clearly a kids book, because the heroes rarely have to make tough choices, things just work out. Surprise friendlies, or safe havens, or accessory upgrades, all show up out of the blue just in the nick of time. And it would be one thing if these tropes were only in this book. But some of the exact same plot coupons or locations show up in My Diary From the Edge of the World. Looking at Earth from the edge of the world, hopping a flying horse to safety, crossing a desert and a snowy mountain and pausing to behold The World Tree, miraculously stumbling into a wise old friend (Arista/Prospero) who heals the party and outfits them for the arduous journey ahead... It's almost as if this book was the rough draft for the other, all of the Underworld monsters replaced with cryptids. I don't understand why so much material was recycled. The author clearly doesn't suffer from a lack of imagination. What is with the nostalgia for shanty towns, cowboys, American explorers?...Is it the author's own biases again bleeding through? Did some editor advise Anderson that certain plot beats need to happen in a fantasy adventure story? I don't know why, but choices were made, and then repeated, and I noticed, and I'm annoyed. *Shrug*
All in all, though, it's easy to ignore those two half stars! The rest of the book shines. I cannot wait to jump into the final book!
Unfortunately, I did knock off one star: Half for goofy cat antics and half for redundancy/tropes.
Let's start with the cats...
In the first book, it was obvious that Somber Kitty was based off of a real, beloved cat. But his ample page time was charming, very Homeward Bound; you don't have to be a cat lover to sympathize with the relationship between A Kid and her Pet, hearts and fates entwined no matter the distance between them. But in this sequel, for some bizarrro reason, Kitty was given a demonic cat nemesis, Commander Berzerko, who is an annoying, goofy distraction that eats up WAY too much of this very short book. Berzerko is a Crazy Cat Person's idea of funny: Cute on the outside, diabolical on the inside, the frizzing and whizzing of an angry cat indicative of paranormal powers. Her rivalry with Kitty is unnecessary, it doesn't serve May's arc or the duo's journey home. If anything, Berzerko cheapens Kitty, turning him into a cartoon: They literally get into a karate match! I could believe that Berzerko is also based off of a real life puffball, and that the author had fun hyperbolically describing a real squabble between her pets. But it had no business here. Maybe as a bonus chapter in a B&N exclusive edition, maybe. Maybe as one silly chapter near the end, to take some of the terror out of the big confrontation. But not as a running gag throughout the ENTIRE book. If books came with Skip buttons, I would have been happy to Skip all the Berzerko scenes, I wouldn't have missed anything important.
The other half star is about the ease with which our characters get out of danger. This book is clearly a kids book, because the heroes rarely have to make tough choices, things just work out. Surprise friendlies, or safe havens, or accessory upgrades, all show up out of the blue just in the nick of time. And it would be one thing if these tropes were only in this book. But some of the exact same plot coupons or locations show up in My Diary From the Edge of the World. Looking at Earth from the edge of the world, hopping a flying horse to safety, crossing a desert and a snowy mountain and pausing to behold The World Tree, miraculously stumbling into a wise old friend (Arista/Prospero) who heals the party and outfits them for the arduous journey ahead... It's almost as if this book was the rough draft for the other, all of the Underworld monsters replaced with cryptids. I don't understand why so much material was recycled. The author clearly doesn't suffer from a lack of imagination. What is with the nostalgia for shanty towns, cowboys, American explorers?...Is it the author's own biases again bleeding through? Did some editor advise Anderson that certain plot beats need to happen in a fantasy adventure story? I don't know why, but choices were made, and then repeated, and I noticed, and I'm annoyed. *Shrug*
All in all, though, it's easy to ignore those two half stars! The rest of the book shines. I cannot wait to jump into the final book!
May 19, 2019
'May Bird: the girl who'll save the Ever After from Evil Bo Cleevil's evil rule.'
May Bird is a twelve-year-old girl who's trying to escape the Ever After, which she got stuck in during the first book. She's traveling with Pumpkin, a house ghost, Bea, a girl who died long ago and has been searching the Ever After for her mother ever since, and Fabio, an Italian captain who died in an accident with his team in the Alps, along with May's hairless cat, Somber kitty. The group is trying to make their way to find the Lady of the North Farm, so that May will be able to return home to her mom while being chased by the Bogey and Evil Bo Cleevil.
One reason why I enjoyed this book was that the characters were realistic and the worldbuilding was done well enough that you can almost see the Ever After. Every character had a unique personality from the others, with Pumpkin being a cowardly house ghost with a passion for singing, May being an unlikely hero who only wants to go home, and Bo Cleevil being someone with a knowledge of how empty the world really could be.
The world is well built up with many people and side-characters along with enough to give you a picture of the world of the Ever After and the many interesting places inside it. It includes cities, oceans, caves, carnivals, and more. While reading you can practically see the characters and buildings interacting with each other and wondering around.
In conclusion, if you're ever looking for a book to read, I highly suggest this series. The characters, buildings, and plot are all well thought out and developed, and it's a funny and entertaining read.
May Bird is a twelve-year-old girl who's trying to escape the Ever After, which she got stuck in during the first book. She's traveling with Pumpkin, a house ghost, Bea, a girl who died long ago and has been searching the Ever After for her mother ever since, and Fabio, an Italian captain who died in an accident with his team in the Alps, along with May's hairless cat, Somber kitty. The group is trying to make their way to find the Lady of the North Farm, so that May will be able to return home to her mom while being chased by the Bogey and Evil Bo Cleevil.
One reason why I enjoyed this book was that the characters were realistic and the worldbuilding was done well enough that you can almost see the Ever After. Every character had a unique personality from the others, with Pumpkin being a cowardly house ghost with a passion for singing, May being an unlikely hero who only wants to go home, and Bo Cleevil being someone with a knowledge of how empty the world really could be.
The world is well built up with many people and side-characters along with enough to give you a picture of the world of the Ever After and the many interesting places inside it. It includes cities, oceans, caves, carnivals, and more. While reading you can practically see the characters and buildings interacting with each other and wondering around.
In conclusion, if you're ever looking for a book to read, I highly suggest this series. The characters, buildings, and plot are all well thought out and developed, and it's a funny and entertaining read.
November 16, 2020
May Birds never ending journey, is just so magical. I just couldn’t resist, I had to find out what happens to little May. In book one May discovers the world of The Ever After, and she meets many friends along the way, and experiences loss and hardships. In this book, May’s story in the Ever After is continued because she never made it back home in the first book. I feel in this story, May has grown so much. She had learned so much more about her new and only friends, she meets more along the way who are willing to help her. Most importantly she seems to learn more about herself, she learns how to channel in her brave side! Throughout we finally meet the Lady of North Farm, battle Goblins and Zombies, unexpectedly meet Bo Cleevil without knowing at first, travel way down to the bottom of South Place which is ironically like “hell”, take care of the “Bogey”, and escape/out smart Evil Bo Cleevil! We also get to hear a little about how Mays mother is doing since her disappearance. Again the valuable lesson is trusting and counting on your friends, and letting your friends trust and count on you, because May wouldn’t have made it as far as she did without the comfort of her friends and she feels it too. Also it’s okay to step out of your comfort zone, be brave, stick up for what you believe is right and most importantly Own It! Like I said what a magical tale, in which I’m happy I finally read, but I must say what a bittersweet ending!
December 1, 2023
Note: This is the 2nd book in a trilogy, I feel like anything can be a spoiler even just reading a description of the book, so be wary of that!
General Description: After a harrowing escape, May Bird and her friends make their way up north to the Lady of the North Farm. However, it's not a straight shot to the farm. Can her and her friends make it there in one piece and what will they discover when they finally meet the mysterious Lady of the North Farm?
The good:
- I LOVED how much more we traveled in the Ever After. I felt like we were able to see so much more of the creative world Jodi created.
- Again, the side characters/trope that we are following are all wonderful.
- I like May Bird's own growth in this book more than her growth in the first book.
- I enjoyed seeing more of the villains in this book and the creatures that lurk in the night.
The loss of a star:
- This book specifically feels like a book that was made to get us to book 3? It felt more rushed than I would have preferred it to be and it leads me to think this could have been a duology potentially. Just not my favorite way to split up a story.
Overall: If you liked book #1 in this series, I think you'd also like book #2
General Description: After a harrowing escape, May Bird and her friends make their way up north to the Lady of the North Farm. However, it's not a straight shot to the farm. Can her and her friends make it there in one piece and what will they discover when they finally meet the mysterious Lady of the North Farm?
The good:
- I LOVED how much more we traveled in the Ever After. I felt like we were able to see so much more of the creative world Jodi created.
- Again, the side characters/trope that we are following are all wonderful.
- I like May Bird's own growth in this book more than her growth in the first book.
- I enjoyed seeing more of the villains in this book and the creatures that lurk in the night.
The loss of a star:
- This book specifically feels like a book that was made to get us to book 3? It felt more rushed than I would have preferred it to be and it leads me to think this could have been a duology potentially. Just not my favorite way to split up a story.
Overall: If you liked book #1 in this series, I think you'd also like book #2
July 24, 2024
There are a lot of aspects of my childhood I’d correct but my book taste is not one.
This book series was such a gem of a find at the Scholastic Book Fair. May Bird and the Ever After remains one of the great fantasy novels I’ve experienced in my lifetime. May Bird Among the Stars remains one of the feeble sequels written between two great books. I maintain the opinion I held when I reread the first book of this trilogy a few months ago - this trilogy should only have been a duology.
May Bird and the Ever After and May Bird Warrior Princess are compelling books with very strong storylines. Among The Stars reminds me of a 0.5 novella, not enough substance to be a whole novel but obviously containing enough plot to be necessary to the series. If Ever After and Among the Stars had been released as one great fantasy tome, it would be more successful and more interesting.
Among the Stars dragged on for me, as short as it already was. It just feels pointless to have split up May’s adventures into a second book for the sake of making it a series. The plot of the sequel is wearisome and redundant as it drags on for another 272 pages.
This book series was such a gem of a find at the Scholastic Book Fair. May Bird and the Ever After remains one of the great fantasy novels I’ve experienced in my lifetime. May Bird Among the Stars remains one of the feeble sequels written between two great books. I maintain the opinion I held when I reread the first book of this trilogy a few months ago - this trilogy should only have been a duology.
May Bird and the Ever After and May Bird Warrior Princess are compelling books with very strong storylines. Among The Stars reminds me of a 0.5 novella, not enough substance to be a whole novel but obviously containing enough plot to be necessary to the series. If Ever After and Among the Stars had been released as one great fantasy tome, it would be more successful and more interesting.
Among the Stars dragged on for me, as short as it already was. It just feels pointless to have split up May’s adventures into a second book for the sake of making it a series. The plot of the sequel is wearisome and redundant as it drags on for another 272 pages.
March 16, 2023
May Bird Among the stars is every bit as nail biting and wonderful as the first of the trilogy.
In this book May is trying to get home but everywhere she turns there are goblins and zombies that only know the word... euuuurrrrrhh. And lets not forget the evil Bogey who May must sneak past in order to get to the portal home.
Among the Stars shows May Bird as a much more courageous character, standing up for what she believes is right and defending her friends using a bow and arrow which seems to do nothing but flop to the floor before her targets. With the help of her cat Somber Kitty May travels far and wide and eventually to the Bogeys bedroom. And every step of the way is full of light hearted humour and little curiosities.
Overall this book is great, even Pumpkin (who in the first was stupidly annoying and whiny.) was an alright character in this. After finishing this book at work on my last break I couldn't wait to get home and begin Warrior Princess.
Now for the finale!
In this book May is trying to get home but everywhere she turns there are goblins and zombies that only know the word... euuuurrrrrhh. And lets not forget the evil Bogey who May must sneak past in order to get to the portal home.
Among the Stars shows May Bird as a much more courageous character, standing up for what she believes is right and defending her friends using a bow and arrow which seems to do nothing but flop to the floor before her targets. With the help of her cat Somber Kitty May travels far and wide and eventually to the Bogeys bedroom. And every step of the way is full of light hearted humour and little curiosities.
Overall this book is great, even Pumpkin (who in the first was stupidly annoying and whiny.) was an alright character in this. After finishing this book at work on my last break I couldn't wait to get home and begin Warrior Princess.
Now for the finale!
September 28, 2020
This book was great and I loved it so much!!!!!!!! It hooked me in mere seconds!! I read this book while I was in grade 6 and it made my world! It was one of my favorite books and still is in my "best books bookshelf". Admittedly, I read this book before reading the first book, I still have not and feel guilty about it. I advise you read this book! It doesn't matter what age you are, you will love it!
April 30, 2023
I had set this series aside to read, since my daughter had really loved it when she was the target age range. This book is really the second half of the arc from the first in the series, so glad I had them both at hand.
As an adult reading this, the plot is a bit slow at times, but it is still charming. The additional world building was good, and the resolution satisfying with open ends left for the next in the trilogy.
As an adult reading this, the plot is a bit slow at times, but it is still charming. The additional world building was good, and the resolution satisfying with open ends left for the next in the trilogy.
February 15, 2019
Another amazing book in the May Bird series. More of May less of Somber Kitty this time. May is becoming the hero she always was but just did not know it, Can't wait to read the next and concluding book in the series. Glad I have got all three to hand - too often you end up with a long break between books and end up losing interest (Jim Butcher!!!)
July 2, 2021
I was looking for something to read when I came across this book. I was immediately drawn to the descriptions of the characters, especially the hairless cat. There are historical and cultural references sprinkled throughout the book that I found delightful and entertaining, which kept me looking for them to the very end.
June 20, 2020
I enjoyed this book (2nd in a series) even more than the first! It had even more humor & heart. Also, a better stopping point for an ending (even though there is a book #3), than the cliff hanger #1 ended on (luckily I already had this book on hand when I finished the 1st one!!).
October 31, 2021
Continuing on with revisiting these from my middle school days, this is still the weakest in the trilogy (in my opinion and from my memory). It meanders quite frequently and many of the side characters are more interesting in this installment than the heroine.
April 15, 2024
I’m very much enjoying revisiting these books as an adult. For books intended for younger people, I find them quite enjoyable. Well written, compelling, darkly funny, and exciting. Can’t wait to devour the next one.
July 13, 2017
was a good read, but not as good as what the first story left me with. something from the first one felt missing in this one. still enjoyable.
August 16, 2017
May Bird and her hairless cat, Somber Kitty, are trying to find a way
out of the Ever After.
The story has an odd style of humor similar to the movie: Beetlejuice.
out of the Ever After.
The story has an odd style of humor similar to the movie: Beetlejuice.
June 5, 2018
“May Bird Among the Stars” is a thrilling book with so much emotion it almost feels like you're there with all of the characters. For example, when May gets a letter from the Lady of the North farm it reads “Home is behind you-the lady of the north farm” When she sees this she gets very confused and sad; it is so descriptive and the author uses these emotions to hook the reader. My favorite character was Pumpkin because he is very shy and lazy but he is daring enough to save May’s life many times. I would suggest this book for grades 5th-12th because it is a chapter book with very hard vocabulary words.
June 20, 2018
I love this series. I wish I had read them when I was younger! May Bird and Somber Kitty top my "favorite characters" list.
February 2, 2019
Love these books soo much.
March 8, 2019
This series is amazing. Once you start reading, you just can't put it down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews