Dreary & Naughty (Short Story Collection Review)

Dreary & Naughty is a new literary duo from the minds of author John LaFleur and artist Shawn Dubin. The collection of short stories currently features three different releases: The Misadventures of Dreary & Naughty, Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February and Dreary & Naughty: The ABC's of Being Dead. The short stories target a young audience and provide great reading material that children and young teens are sure to love. The storylines focus on the undead duo from the title of the books, as they attempt to grow up in the human world. There are plenty of life lessons behind the stories that will help prepare kids for there own life, and there are some pretty awesome drawings to set the stage for each new setting as well.


The Misadventures of Dreary & Naughty is the first release in the series that was introduced way back in 2003. The new edition provides revised text and other improvements from the original work, but it still focuses on the same fun storyline. Dreary is the teenage son of the Grim Reaper, and Naughty is the daughter of the Devil. The unlikely duo meet up in a mostly ordinary high school that their parents force them to attend in order to learn more about human life. The two eventually meet up and decide they have more in common than simply both being an undead living among humans, and a strong friendship is formed, while a strong narrative sets up what is to come for the title characters.

Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February is the second book in the series that focuses on Valentine's Day for the undead, and the text is not only entertaining, but it's very appropriate reading material for this time of the year. The new tale focuses on the title characters new friendship on one of the toughest holidays for young couples. All of the boys at the local high school are looking to make Naughty their Valentine this year, and Dreary isn't too happy about the attention she is getting, especially since all the other girls at Whispering Hills High try to avoid the boney kid as much as possible. In the end, readers are left with a smile on their face and a renewed idea of what the candy-filled holiday really means.

The third and final release currently available for the series is Dreary & Naughty: The ABC's of Being Dead. Plenty of time has passed in this release, and Dreary and Naughty must now head back to their home at the Dark Side of Town to learn about living together as young adults. The new book focuses on much more serious problems for the undead team, as they begin making life altering decisions that will determine how they will live the rest of their undead lives. Readers will be treated to plenty of new characters that play prominent roles in the storyline including important roles by the title characters' parents. Though the book touches on more serious subjects, it's still a fun read that will leave fans excited for what is next for their favorite skeleton and demon combo.

The Dreary & Naughty collection are high quality works that most parents will find age appropriate for their kids, and young readers will be likely to enjoy the books if they happen to be fans of the horror genre or shows such as Monster High. Though the characters in the book are inspired by some pretty frightening monsters, the scariest parts of the books is learning to deal with situations that affect us all throughout our own lives. The illustrations in the books are completely black and white, with the only color being the red, hardcovers that encase the text.

The Dreary & Naughty is designed with younger readers in mind, but the books can be a good read for all ages, thanks to great storylines that focuses on subject matter that is taken from real world problems that affects everyone. The books are short though, so experienced readers will have no problem in covering all of the releases in the series in an hour or less. Dreary & Naughty is a great collection of books that is not only entertaining, but readers may learn a few ways to solve problems in their own life while reading. Check out these new releases online or at your local book store today!

The Misadventures of Dreary & Naughty is now available from all major retailers and can be purchased for $14.99. For more information on the books series, check out the official Dreary & Naughty website

Game Information:
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Author: John LaFleur
Illustrator: Shawn Dubin
Hardcover
58 Pages
Release: Available Now

Score: 9 out of 10