Everwild

Everwild
Skinjacker Trillogy
Book 2

Neal Shusterman

Synopsis:
Nick and Allie have now gone their separate ways, fighting their own separate battles. Nick, now known around Everlost as the dreaded Chocolate Ogre, is trying to free as many souls from Everlost as he can, saving them from Mary's misguided views of Everlost. Allie has gone a totally different direction, starting to venture home with Mikey, the recently transformed McGill. She meets a new band of Skinjackers that teach her secrets, but the leader, Minoh, seems to be hiding things from her, plotting behind her back. At the same time, Nick realizes that a war is coming between him and Mary, and he needs all of the help Everlost can provide. With new powers of Everlost revealed and new, terrible plots from Mary, the stakes for Nick and Allie are higher than ever.

My Thoughts:
I would say that this book is probably better than the first, filled with more action and suspenseful plots. Nick's chocolate situation makes things seem desperate for him, and Mary's deadly plots make the story fast paced and exciting. The alliances that turn on each other make the reader question where true individual plans lie, and I know that I am definitely needing the third book! My one "complaint" is that the book had a little too much romance, and that the relationships are not only irrelevant due to the circumstances of Everlost, but they keep switching every time somebody has an argument. Still, the book is very good, and I would definitely encourage you to keep reading the series!

Questions for Thought:
1. What ability would you want to have if you lived in Everlost? (Skinjacking, Ecto-ripping, morphing, etc.)

2. Were you Mikey, traveling with the Skinjackers, would you trust your crush to go off with another guy all day, every day and not follow?

3. What do you think is across the Mississippi?

One quick unrelated note: I am VERY sorry that it took me this long to get the review up. I will try harder to get these up right away, hopefully starting tomorrow with reviews for Tunnels and Empty.

Please leave your comments and answers!

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Everlost

Everlost
Skinjacker Trillogy
Book 1

Neal Shusterman

Synopsis:
Nick and Allie have died in a car accident. On their way through the tunnel through the light, they bump into each other, hurtling them out of the tunnel, into the limbo state of Everlost: The world between the living and the dead. They are determined to find their way home to check on their family, but things are not as they seem in this new world. Though it appears to be like the normal world, the children of Everlost, or Afterlights, can sink in the ground, ending up all in a mass in the center of the Earth, waiting for the end of the world. Only a few places, Dead Spots, are like solid ground. Some of these places are where people have died, and others are cherished places destined to be immortal. Nick and Allie journey to New York, where they meet a girl named Mary Hightower, a leader for Afterlights. Nick is content to stay here with Mary, but Allie thinks that Mary's beliefs are twisted and wrong. When Allie, Nick, and their friend Leif venture out to find answers, Nick and Leif are captured by the terrible monster known as the McGill, and it is up to Allie to find a way to beat the terrible beast and retrieve her friends.

My Thoughts:
When I first started reading this book, I thought it may be kind of dull, but since I loved Shusterman's Unwind, I kept going, hoping a change was going to happen. sure enough, it did, and this book was extremely suspenseful. The characters in Everlost are defined by their emotions and thoughts about themselves. Most obviously, the way you picture yourself is actually the way you look. If you thought you had three arms, you would grow a third. Also, people's emotions seem to take them over and turn them into something else or define them. Mary and McGill are perfect examples of this. Mary's actions may have been similar in the real world, but the reality of Everlost amplifies her emotions to protect others, at least from my viewpoint. The book does not really end in a cliffhanger, but I did immediately put a hold on the sequel, Everwild, from my local library because I wanted more. Overall, a great book!

Questions for Thought:
1. Do you think that children should stay in Everlost, like Mary says, or should they use their coin to "get where they were going"?

2. What would your "rut" be in Everlost? Would you let yourself fall into routine, would you be a finder, or just rebel like Allie?

3. Do you think that fortune cookies should be read, as McGill does, or do you side with Mary on this subject?

Please leave your comments and answers!

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