Book of the Month - April 2011

The Book of the Month award for April 2011 goes to...

...Everfound by Neal Shusterman!

Well, this one wasn't a hard choice for once. Had I not read Everfound, it would have been, but I must say, this book blew me away. After I was done reading, I really couldn't think about anything but the book for the rest of the night, and only a truly great book will do that. Really, I shouldn't be surprised, because Neal Shusterman has done that before with Unwind, but for different reasons.

Everfound was so complicated and had so many plot twists to keep the suspense up, there was no way it couldn't win the Book of the Month. The entire Skinjacker seires was good, and as each book was released, it kept getting better, something that just doesn't happen. I can't wait for it to actually be released so you all can read it, too!

I also must give a shout-out to Gone, because had I finished it two days later, it possibly could have earned its own Book of the Month award, but it just couldn't quite compete with Everfound. So while you wait for Everfound to be released, you can read Gone!

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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Everfound

Everfound
Skinjacker Trillogy
Book 3

Neal Shusterman

Thank You!
Before my summary and review, I must thank Neal Shusterman himself for the Advance Reviewer Copy of Everfound that he sent me. When I found out that I had won the free copy on Facebook, it was all I wanted to talk about for a week. I literally checked my front porch every day after I found out I had won the book to see if it had arrived, and when it finally did, I dropped everything and started reading, finishing the 500 page book in two days. This book was phenomenal, thank you very much for the chance to read it early! (Don't worry, for the rest of you, Everfound will be available in early May.)

Synopsis:
The stakes in Everlost are higher than ever. Mary Hightower has devised a cunning plan to bring millions of children into Everlost, "saving" them from the terrors of the living world, and her only opposition is divided and weak. Milos and the rest of Mary's children await the resurrection of their idol, and start reaping hundreds of new souls into Everlost. While they wait, alliances start weakening and tension grows between Milos, Jackin' Jill, and Furjacker Jix. Even when it looks like Mary's scheme is going to fall apart, she unexpectedly wakes up months before she is scheduled to. The emergence of the "Eastern Witch" quickly stirs things up, and as characters lose their worth in her eyes, a new band of resistance forms. Together, Allie, Nick, Mikey, Jill, Jix, and the terrifying scar wraith Clarence must stop Mary before she destroys the living world forever...

My Thoughts:
Neal Shusterman has created a masterpiece with this epic finale to the Skinjacker Trillogy. With a whole cast of new characters added to the mix, a whole new series of complications and alliances form, all with conflicting feelings and goals. The novel is a page-turner from the very beginning to the bittersweet end. Shuterman has managed to reverse the usual tendency of a series to start with the best book and gradually go downhill, ending the Skinjacker Trillogy with the best installment yet. Throughout the book, the nature of Everlost is questioned both through inanimate objects and living (and dead) characters. Objects such as the Wurltzer with its powers of foresight complicate the story line, making you wonder if it really is chance or if there is some greater power controlling it. Abilities of certain characters, most obviously Clarence the scar wraith, also make you wonder how and why certain powers in Everlost exist. The complex world of Everlost will never be able to be fully understood, but this fact only adds appeal to the story. In the same way, the complexity of the characters grows in this story, even with new characters. I felt like I knew each character by the end of the story, and it was sad to say goodbye. The emotions of all of the characters were so strong and realistic that I couldn't help but feel for them, cheering them on in their victories and having my heart drop when they failed. The way that emotion and willpower is so powerful in Everlost really makes the story intriguing, but when you think about it, willpower can have just as drastic results in our world if it is strong enough. The depth and complexity of this story really made it stand out, leading it near, if not to, the top of my favorites list.

Questions for Thought:
1. If you chose to be a furjacker, what kind of animal would you choose to inhabit?

2. Do you think that if someone doesn't believe in the power of scar wraiths that they will disappear?

3. What do you think the deadliest power in Everlost is? The most helpful?

4. Would you be able to kill the comatose bodies of Mary's skinjackers to prevent their evil deeds?

5. Do you think Nick will ever be ready to leave Everlost?

6. Were you a skinjacker, would you be brave enough to skinjack your own body and abandon Everlost forever?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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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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