Nevermore review

okay. so i know i'm not around much these days. i missed Valentine's Day (hope everybody enjoyed their day as much as i did mine!). i just finished a couple of exams (accounting and microeconomics) and i finally feel like i can breathe! school and life are a bit crazy, and meanwhile, my poor blog is being neglected.

i'm sorry.

i can't promise i'll be around more, but i'll try to be better about posting. i promise!! in the meantime....


Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

my thoughts:

i loved the idea of this book the first time i heard it. the whole premise, the cover--it was seductive and enticing. actually the whole book sounded (and felt when i was reading it) like Beautiful Creatures minus the To Kill a Mockingbird influence plus some Edgar Allen Poe influence. if that makes any sense at all.

if you're a fan of Poe and a fan of YA lit, this book is for you. i loved it. i devoured the story. i liked that the author wasn't afraid to use characters that weren't necessarily instantly lovable. she made them dynamic, changing them throughout the story, which i think is missing from a lot of stories; i like being able to watch the character grow as the story goes on. it's more engaging and personal. this change was especially evident in Isobel, who went through some seriously-needed character development.

despite definite opportunities to do so, Ms. Creagh kept the story from veering into what i'd call "the abstract". the abstract never makes any sense to me. she let the story have some creative freedom without completely losing me, and i really appreciated that.

of course, no story is perfect (or at least, almost no story is). my complaint about Nevermore was....you guessed it, the cliff-hanger ending!! i cannot tell you how much these are starting to annoy me. oh well. i guess it means there's more from Ms. Creagh to look forward to, even if Nevermore had no closure.

my rating: 4.6