Night of the Living Toilet Paper by Kevin Garone

Night of the Living Toilet Paper by Kevin Garone
Alien Survival Guide Book 2
Publisher: Temor Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Marv and his friends are back in this exciting sequel to I Know What UFO Did Last Summer. Will they be able to stop a new threat to their town?

A few months have passed since Marv and his friends stopped what he believes was an extraterrestrial plot to take over the planet. But he’s not letting his guard down. If there’s one thing Marv knows, it’s that aliens could attempt another invasion at any time.

So when he spots an unmanned motorcycle racing into the woods, pursued by a paranormal investigator, Marv’s instincts scream that something very weird is going on. Marv tracks down the bike and hauls it to his fort for closer inspection. That’s when he sees it: a Sleech—one of the creatures he encountered last summer—slithering out of the motorcycle’s tailpipe.

But when Marv returns to show his discovery to his friends, they find the fort completely destroyed. The only thing left is his emergency stockpile of toilet paper.

And it’s alive.

Now Marv and his friends must unravel the mystery of the Sleech before their entire town is overrun by a monstrous swarm of toilet paper. Because if they don’t stop it in time…

It’s going to wipe them out.

Smart toilet paper is nothing to mess around with.

The dialogue made me smile, especially when the characters were bouncing ideas off of each other as they attempted to figure out how to defeat the toilet paper monster and the sleech. All of the characters had natural speaking styles that made me feel like I was overhearing their conversations instead of reading about them. This is not always an easy thing to accomplish, so I must tip my cap to the author for not only pulling it off but also for doing it so effortlessly that these moments felt completely true to real life other than the fact that toilet paper is rarely if ever dangerous in our world.

Mr. Garone had a playful sense of humor that worked beautifully for middle grade horror. This was something I first noticed in I Know What UFO Did Last Summer, but it was even stronger and funnier this time around. Toilet paper was just about the last thing I’d think of as an antagonist, so I was excited to see what the author did with such a creative approach to conflict. This was the second book I’ve read from him, and I hope to hear from him and his hilarious point of view again in the near future.

Speaking of the first book, I enjoyed seeing how Marv and his friends grew and changed as a result of their earlier experiences with extraterrestrials. My first review mentioned that I wanted more character development, and I was thrilled to have that wish granted this time around. This added layers of meaning to the storyline that made choosing a five star rating the only genuine choice I could make. It will be exciting to see where the characters go from here.

I’d recommend reading this series in order for plot and character development reasons.

Night of the Living Toilet Paper was wonderful.