Book 3 of the Skinjacker Trilogy
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: fiction, fantasy, young adult
Publication info: Simon & Schuster, 2011
Pages: 500
Young adult fiction is a strange genre. I don't get why some mediocre or downright awful books, such as The Hunger Games or the Twilight saga (respectively), get all the attention, while well-written, gripping, stunningly creative books are forced to fly under the radar.
I am, of course, referring to Neal Shusterman's Skinjacker trilogy. It's no secret that I love these books. But I'd like to believe my love isn't misplaced. Maybe there's something out there that this trilogy resembles, but I haven't heard about it.
I was excited to see that Everfound, the final installment, was coming out much sooner than I expected. I ordered it pretty soon after it was released, and I'm glad it did. This book did not disappoint me, and if you have enjoyed both Everlost and Everwild, I'm sure you will enjoy this one too.
It picks up shortly after Everwild left off (if you haven't read that one, I wouldn't recommend reading my description here—it might spoil some things for you). Both of our heroes are in pretty bad situations. Nick "the Chocolate Ogre" has been turned entirely into chocolate and doesn't remember anything about who he really is. Allie "the Outcast" is a prisoner tied to the front of a train that carries the sleeping body of Mary Hightower. It is still months before Mary is supposed to wake up from her second death, and meanwhile her group is being led by the ruthless Milos, who is fiercely devoted to Mary and will do anything—to anyone—to win her love.
So the conflict begins right away, but there is also a new piece to the puzzle: Jix, a "furjacker" who can possess animals' bodies, has come from a mysterious kingdom in the south to find out what Mary is up to. Milos welcomes him aboard the train, but Jix has his own objectives and allegiances, so it's unclear whether he will be a help or a hindrance to Mary's (and Milos's) fanatical ambitions.
And the stakes have once again been upped. For one, the characters encounter a "scar wraith," a man who has some body parts that exist in Everlost. A single touch from a scar wraith will cause an Afterlight to vanish from existence. And Mary, of course, has become even crazier than ever (in her cool, collected way). Her goal is to bring the entire living world over into Everlost. The scary thing is, she might actually have the means to do it.
Everfound is an exciting and totally satisfying conclusion to the series. One thing I love about this book is how many obstacles and conflicts the author keeps throwing at the characters. Every time, it seems like they're not going to get out of it. Every time, it feels like a genuine danger. And the solutions sometimes come at a high price. I call that good writing.
If you've read the first two books of this trilogy, don't hesitate to pick up this concluding installment. You won't be disappointed.
Showing posts with label Skinjacker Trilogy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skinjacker Trilogy. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Everwild
Book 2 of the Skinjacker Trilogy
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: fiction, young adult, fantasy (sort of)
Publication info: Simon & Schuster, 2009
Pages: 424
For those of you keeping score at home, Everlost was the very first book I reviewed on this blog. I raved about it for its brilliance in depicting a world utterly bizarre and foreign and yet at the same time eerily familiar and believable.
A few months ago, I was surprised to come across Everwild, the sequel to Everlost, in the library. I didn't know there was gong to be a sequel. The ending to the first book certainly leaves open the possibility, but not the necessity, of a sequel. Being naturally wary of sequels, I was hesitant to check this book out, but since I loved the first one so much and wanted to return to the world of Everlost, the limbo world of dead children, I just couldn't help myself.
I loved this one too. Maybe this isn't the best-written book in the world or the most profound, but I just love being in the world these books describe.
Everwild begins a short time after the previous book ends. Nick, the newly dead kid from the first book, has embarked on a quest to help all Afterlights (inhabitants of Everlost) to "get where they are going"—in other words, to escape Everlost. But the power-hungry Mary Hightower is on a quest of her own to villify Nick and gain as many followers as she can. Nick soon realizes he will need to confront her, so he sets out to amass an army. And to do that, he'll need to go into the mysterious region of Everlost known as the Everwild.
Meanwhile, Allie, who died at the same time as Nick, is trying to find her family and see how they have been doing since her accident. She is developing her skills as a skinjacker, an Afterlight who can "borrow" the bodies of the living. But skinjacking soon becomes a dangerous obsession for her, leading her to discover a most surprising truth about herself.
I don't want to give too much away here, especially if you haven't read the first book. But I would just like to say that I enjoyed this book immensely, and I was actually pretty sad when it was over. I read it over a single weekend when I was sick, and at the end I thought maybe I had read it too fast. I just can't overemphasize how fun the whole idea is. Some parts had me laughing out loud. And yet while it's fun, it's also grim and eerie.
There are only two potential problems with this book that I can see. The first is that it features quite a bit of "teen angst"—love triangles and whatnot. You'd think Afterlights wouldn't be concerned about love, but they manage somehow. It's not terrible, though. I just wanted to point that out for people who might be bothered by it.
The other point is that whereas Everlost had a pretty satisfying conclusion, Everwild pretty much screams for a sequel. Now it's obvious on the cover that this is part two of a trilogy, so it should be no surprise, but still, it's going to be hard to wait for the third book to come out. It took three years for this one to come, so I might have to wait another couple years before I find out what happens to these Afterlights.
To anyone looking for an interesting and fun book to read, I recommend this series. Definitely read Everlost first, though. And if you have read Everlost and liked it, continue the adventure with Everwild. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: fiction, young adult, fantasy (sort of)
Publication info: Simon & Schuster, 2009
Pages: 424
For those of you keeping score at home, Everlost was the very first book I reviewed on this blog. I raved about it for its brilliance in depicting a world utterly bizarre and foreign and yet at the same time eerily familiar and believable.
A few months ago, I was surprised to come across Everwild, the sequel to Everlost, in the library. I didn't know there was gong to be a sequel. The ending to the first book certainly leaves open the possibility, but not the necessity, of a sequel. Being naturally wary of sequels, I was hesitant to check this book out, but since I loved the first one so much and wanted to return to the world of Everlost, the limbo world of dead children, I just couldn't help myself.
I loved this one too. Maybe this isn't the best-written book in the world or the most profound, but I just love being in the world these books describe.
Everwild begins a short time after the previous book ends. Nick, the newly dead kid from the first book, has embarked on a quest to help all Afterlights (inhabitants of Everlost) to "get where they are going"—in other words, to escape Everlost. But the power-hungry Mary Hightower is on a quest of her own to villify Nick and gain as many followers as she can. Nick soon realizes he will need to confront her, so he sets out to amass an army. And to do that, he'll need to go into the mysterious region of Everlost known as the Everwild.
Meanwhile, Allie, who died at the same time as Nick, is trying to find her family and see how they have been doing since her accident. She is developing her skills as a skinjacker, an Afterlight who can "borrow" the bodies of the living. But skinjacking soon becomes a dangerous obsession for her, leading her to discover a most surprising truth about herself.
I don't want to give too much away here, especially if you haven't read the first book. But I would just like to say that I enjoyed this book immensely, and I was actually pretty sad when it was over. I read it over a single weekend when I was sick, and at the end I thought maybe I had read it too fast. I just can't overemphasize how fun the whole idea is. Some parts had me laughing out loud. And yet while it's fun, it's also grim and eerie.
There are only two potential problems with this book that I can see. The first is that it features quite a bit of "teen angst"—love triangles and whatnot. You'd think Afterlights wouldn't be concerned about love, but they manage somehow. It's not terrible, though. I just wanted to point that out for people who might be bothered by it.
The other point is that whereas Everlost had a pretty satisfying conclusion, Everwild pretty much screams for a sequel. Now it's obvious on the cover that this is part two of a trilogy, so it should be no surprise, but still, it's going to be hard to wait for the third book to come out. It took three years for this one to come, so I might have to wait another couple years before I find out what happens to these Afterlights.
To anyone looking for an interesting and fun book to read, I recommend this series. Definitely read Everlost first, though. And if you have read Everlost and liked it, continue the adventure with Everwild. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
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