Customer Reviews

Everlost (Skinjacker Trilogy)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Although this book is about teenagers, it is for any age group. I am a thirty year old mom, and I found it riveting. The plot is fresh and unlike anything I've seen. It follows the story of two teens killed in a car wreck and I couldn't put it down. It is everything a good fiction book should be and it even has a little romance! I have bought several copies of this book and have given it to three different age groups (grandma, single-something, and young teenager) and all have enjoyed it.

Simon and Schuster's favorite Shusterman is back and he's cooked up a doozy of a new title for general consumption. Proving to the world that he likes a little gritty with his nitty, Shusterman takes a dark turn with a tale of death, life, and an entire world that exists in-between. It's an elegy to the historical New York region and a fun new way of looking at the nature of ghosts. Because essentially, "Everlost" is a ghost story at its heart. Kids and teens alike will enjoy the story's arc, and though there are a few loose ends waving about here and there, it's an enjoyable read just the same. A book with a chance at being remembered as Mr. Neal Shusterman's best.

Two complete strangers collide in a car accident on a treacherous bit of road. Neither person (both children) was wearing their seatbelt at the time. They die, but that's just on the second page. It seems that Nick and Allie have knocked one another off-course when they were traveling towards "the light" and the two of them find themselves stuck in the middle of a beautiful leafy green forest. They are in the Everlost now, a land somewhere between life and death. No one who ends up in the Everlost is ever much older than fifteen or sixteen, and now our heroes find that the rules they used to live by no longer apply. There is no pain here, but as Afterlights (or ghosts) the kids can only stay in ghostly areas or they'll sink to the center of the earth. They also have to avoid monsters, roving gangs, forgetting who they are, and falling into comfortable eternal ruts. To get some answers, Nick and Allie join up with the long dead Leif and head towards the Everlost version of New York City to get some answers. How do they leave this impermanent world? Where would they end up if they left? And what is their purpose after all?

Engaging? Entirely. If Shusterman wanted to write a book on how to create first chapters with a bit of bite, this might not be a bad title to reference. Right from sentence one the book gets the reader in a throttle-hold and never lets go. This book has plenty of magic, escapes, villains, mystery, and more to entice a couple reluctant readers here and there. I suspect that reading a chapter a day to a class of kids would work especially well.

The author does an excellent job of thinking up his perfect little world. In fact it's too meticulous in some ways. He has rules for everything to the point where little details that didn't quite fit would nag at me. For example, once in a while food crosses over to Everlost and children can eat it. As such, Nick at one point gets trapped in a pickle barrel full of Everlost brine. It can't hurt him, but it's significantly unpleasant and he stays there for quite some time. Now one would think that Nick would figure that the best way to help his situation would be to drink the pickle brine and keep it from surrounding him if it's so nasty. Silly? Oh my, yes. But creative kids readers may find lots of situations like this where the heroes don't act in quite the manner you'd prefer. I also found it interesting that though Allie uses her smarts in various ways, getting herself out of a couple difficulties (though she seems to need rescuing just as often), she never actually saves anyone. Nick, at one point, is captured in quick succession by two wholly different villains. And though Allie works tirelessly to try to save him, in the end he rescues himself alone. Perhaps as a result, Nick ends up with a heroic job to do by the story's finish while Allie's fate is left unclear.

Of course Shusterman's language is always a treat. For example, at one point a bad guy has chained a bunch of kids upside down since the only way he can think to torture them is to bore them to death. They just hang there, but Shusterman is quick to remind us that there was always, "the occasional fight, and group sing-along", which I found rather charming. This is the same evildoer, by the way, who when he finds out that his captives are having a rather nice time says to his best henchman, "Do we have something vile to pour on them?" Shusterman also creates what may be this year's cleverest villain. You won't know this person even is a villain for most of the book (though I'm sure that some canny souls will figure it out fairly early in). At the end, however, the real baddie is unveiled and the book ends on a wry note. I don't know if the author has envisioned sequels to "Everlost" as of yet, he could certainly set himself up for a series here, if he wanted one.

Now there is one little aspect to this book that had me scratching my head and kvetching softly under my breath. The only places an Everlight can remain safely are places that have, like people, met their demise but were well-loved just the same. Old Penn Station, for example, is alive and well in the Everlost. Ditto the Steeplechase Pier and the Steel Pier. However, the Twin Towers appear in this book, and their very inclusion can only be called a calculated risk on Shusterman's part. How comfortable will readers be seeing the Towers up again and housing hundreds of child ghosts? Is that cool? Is it too soon? As someone who wasn't a New Yorker on 9/11/01, it doesn't bother me. I just wonder how people who were in NYC will feel. There is also a mention of the as-of-yet nonexistent Freedom Tower that throws the book for a loop. Perhaps that part of the story will make more sense when and if the tower ever is built.

Some bits in this book work and some don't. The parts that work include the Hindenburg (minus Nazi tail fins) in a grandiose entrance and the clever usage of a diving horse from Atlantic City. Parts that don't quite gel include a bizarre reference to Roswell and another to Amityville. But in spite of these little bursts of peculiarity, the book holds together nicely. I didn't see the twist coming at the end (even with my knowledge of Greek mythology). I liked the people in the book and the ways in which Shusterman chose to break up the text. The world of Everlost has seemingly thought of everything, which is swell. And when you get right down to it, kids are gonna eat this thing up. It may well be Mr. Shusterman's best work, and it's certainly an enticing read. Fun. Nothing more. Nothing less.

At sometime or another all people get to where they are going, right? Well in Everlost it doesn't seem that way... There is a fatal car crash. Two teens, Nick and Allie, do not survive, but they don't die. They go to Everlost, a world between worlds. They aren't dead but they aren't alive. Nick and Allie awake confused. They remember the crash but where are they? They just want to go home to their families. But they can't. Allie and Nick are stuck in Everlost among many other children. Everlost is filled with tricks and traps that will send misled children into the unknown. Allie and Nick are determined to find a way out, but after battles of character and bravery to find a way to the place they should be, they begin to wonder if there is a way out at all... Do they ever get to where they're going?- that's a good question. You'll just have to read the book : )

A book that caught my eye was Everlost a book about two children who were misfortunate too not have a seat belt on in a fatal car crash in New Jersey. Ally the main character is stopped in the tunnel on her way to haven because she happened to crash into Nick sending them to Everlost a place for children who supposedly stuck in for ever.

Her and Nick meet a boy that who cannot remember his name therefore nicknaming him Leaf he will help Nick and Ally on there journey soon they meet a group of Everlost children oh oops forgot to tell you that if you stand in one place too long you will sink to the center of the earth and until the world ends you will never be free. So when they meet this group they threaten to shove them to the center and never be seen again right when Ally starts to loose hope Leaf heroically pulls her onto a dead spot a place where people died it is safe to stand and sleep there. More traveling and they come to a palace home to young and old well actually when you die you stay the same age but only young children go to everlost Meary, the queen of snots, is supposedly trying to help the children of everlost. When they arrive they meet a girl named Meadow. Meadow is a hippy from the 80's. And she leads them to a pond. She said to live here you must throw in a quarter. They say that they do not have any money so she asks them to check their pockets. They find shiny quarters and throw them into the pond not knowing how important they are. Ally dislikes Meary. On the contrary Nick is in love with Meary. and decides to stay with Meary.

My favorite part of the book was when Ally went to the hunter a boy who could teach them the secrets of everlost when they mess up like Nick and Leaf he shoves them in barrels of pickle brine forever but Ally dose not fail his terrible tests wich is picking up a rock from the real world.

Some things I learned from this book is that you must work together to accomplish large tasks the part in the book that this happened was the Micgill a monster of everlost when ever there is a trespasser on the micgill's ship he calls it chiming he ties them by there ankles upside-down and they tangle them selves together to escape.

If I was a book review writer I would give this book 4 stars it just ended they could have written more but other wise an awesome book I highly recommend this book to all young and old

Thanks for listening

Rilee

This book left me intrigued about the afterlife, and caring greatly about the fate of the characters--well, one in particular. Talk about a heroic journey! I truly hope Shusterman feels like visiting this world again and continues Nick's saga. Fascinating read.

The Skinny: It's about two teenagers who are involved in a car accident and ends up in this limbo world between the living and Heaven. They try to find answers and a way out of Everlost.

I thought there could be more character development in Nick because the focus seem to be on Allie. She's always been a strong and assertive character. She always wanted to return home and return to her old life. She's in many ways similar to The McGill and I think that's why she made the decision that she made in the end.

I'm glad Nick finally grew a backbone and challenges Mary Hightower (The Martha Stewart of the afterlife)in the end. I'd say this book's plot is pretty unique and so I never had any preconceptions or anything and just followed along. It was an interesting read and you won't get bored.

There's not much romance in this novel but there's adventure. I do have a complaint with the author's writing style though. He often falls into his own rut and repeats phrases like "things that crossed over or gone where it needs to be going" ( I can't remember exactly). But if you read it and pay attention to some of the sentences he forms, there's that pattern of phrases he tends to repeat. That gets quite annoying after a while.

Read it if you like books that are out of the norm. It gets you thinking about the routines and habits you have in life and whether those are good routines or a sure sign that you're in a rut. Just think if you've died and you're doomed to repeat the same thing everyday, would you want to do something new or stay the same? Read and see what Allie and Nick chose to do.

The amazing world of everlost is filled with afterlights,greensouls, and one monster named McGill. McGill travels in a ship looking for trapped greensouls. The book starts out with Allie and Nick getting in a car accident and landing in Everlost. They soon meet Lief and they travel to New York. They meet Mary Hightower and Nick grows very fondly of Mary. But Aliie still doesn't trust her and soon leaves. O.k I won't tell you the whole story but I highly recommend this book!!!5 STARS!!!!

Will Allie, Nick, and Leif ever get out of Everlost? Everlost tells the story of the three children; Allie, Nick, and Leif adventuring through Everlost. Nick and Allie died of a head on collision on the way to a wedding. They did not even know each other. They woke up in a forest and saw this kid. They asked him what his name was and he did not remember his name because he had been by his self for so many years. So Nick and Allie named him Leif because he lived in a lush green forest. Leif explains that people in the living world have no effect on us Afterlights, and we are ghosts. Nick Allie and Leif adventure through Everlost to find out more about this second world. They go through Manhattan, New York and see the Twin Towers that had crossed into Everlost when they were attacked. They meet Mary a leader of a group of Afterlights. They get caught by the McGill, a monster that captures children to try to get his life in the living world back. They escape from the McGill and defeat him with Mary and the kids that she keeps track of. The McGill was defeated and there were no more threats in Everlost. Although Nick, Leif, and Allie could never get out of Everlost, They were happy.

Nick and Allie don't survive the car accident, but their souls are caught between life in death in a limbo known as Everlost, a shadow of the living world, where other lost kids are trapped. While Nick becomes accustomed to his new world, Allie ventures into the world of haunting, trying to get back to the world she knows best - and finds a monster threatens their new life. EVERLOST is a compelling fantasy that again displays Shusterman's prowess at characterization and unpredictable twists of plot.

Nick and Allie never would have met had their parents' cars not collided on a hairpin turn one day. If only Nick's parents had not hit a piece of steel lying in the road which caused them to blow a tire and head into the oncoming lane of traffic directly in the path of Allie's father. The accident happened so fast neither felt any pain. The only recollection they have is landing on the ground in the woods and feeling very tired.

What happens to children when they get knocked off track on their "way to where they are going?" Neal Shusterman has created the Everlost. A place where children end up if they get thrown off track on their way through the tunnel of light. When Nick and Allie landed in Everlost they slept for nine months before waking up. They were greeted by an eleven-year-old boy named Lief. Lief had been in the forest for a very long time; so long, in fact, he didn't actually remember his name. He made one up when the two asked him what it was.

When you are in Everlost, you are considered an Afterlight. You have a slight glow about you all the time and you have to be very careful where you walk. You are only safe on things or places that have crossed over to Everlost. Otherwise the Afterlight will sink into the ground and go straight to the middle of the Earth and wait there until the end of time. Nick and Allie had to learn the tricks to living in Everlost pretty quickly if they wanted to stay aboveground. They had to get used to walking amongst the living and the feeling of things passing through them.

Not knowing what else to do, Allie and Nick decided to go home and Lief decided to go with them since he hadn't left the forest in about a hundred years. They fashioned "snow shoes" to make it easier to walk on the ground so they wouldn't sink. When they got as far as New York, they found quite a surprise. Standing in the distance, glowing with the radiance of an Afterlight, stood the Twin Towers. They would forever stand in the Everlost because of the terrible tragedy that took place on 9-11-2001. There they met a large group of children living there and being cared for by a young lady named Mary Hightower.

Mary Hightower considered herself the authority of all things in Everlost. She authored many books on different subjects in order to assist new Afterlights in making the transition from the living world. Nick and Allie had different opinions of Mary. Nick almost immediately fell in love with her; Allie considered most of the things she said malarkey. Eventually, Allie decided to go her own way and convinced Nick and Lief to come with her. It didn't turn out to be a very good idea. While they were searching for someone they thought might be able to teach them new skills to use, they met with some mean people. Nick and Lief were sealed in old pickle barrels that were still filled with the brine and then taken prisoner by the monster of Everlost, the McGill.

After some clever thinking on Allie's part and Mary showing up in the Hindenburg, the McGill is overthrown and many Afterlights are rescued. Everyone plans to go back to the Twin Towers until Nick makes a very important discovery. He thinks he knows how to "get people to where they are going." This doesn't sit well with Mary. She likes her role as caretaker of the lost souls and doesn't want them leaving. This puts Nick and Mary on the opposite ends of the issue. Meanwhile, Allie is content and the McGill receives redemption.

Neal Shusterman has created a never-before-seen world that includes adventure and fantasy. The reader won't want the story to end. EVERLOST wraps up nicely, yet there could easily be a sequel.

Reviewed by: Karin Perry