Everlost

Title: Everlost
Author: Neal Shusterman

What it's about: When Nick and Ally wake up after the car crash, they're not exactly alive. Instead, they find themselves to be something more akin to ghosts. The realm that they now inhabit is called Everlost, and its inhabitants are Afterlights. Nick and Ally are not alone. In a ghostly forest, they meet a boy named Lief, and their travels later take them to the domain of Mary Hightower, a girl who acts as a mother to children in Everlost. But while Mary's domain is a haven for Afterlights, there are dangerous things to be found in Everlost, including the mysterious monster known as the McGill.

What I thought: This book really has plenty of imaginative stuff in it. Everlost (I accidentally typed Everworld, but that's a different series) really comes across as a somewhat spooky world that's definitely different from our own. Shusterman came up with a neat set of rules governing it, while never explaining why it actually exists. And that's totally fine, because mystery is fine, while inconsistencies aren't, and Everlost avoids that particular pitfall. There's also a nice set of characters in this novel. Ally's very much an action girl, contrasted with Nick who wants to just find a good thing and stick with it. Ally and Mary are also an interesting contrast, two strong female characters who butt heads. This book doesn't have as many thinking points as the other two of Shusterman's books that I've read this summer (review for Unwind coming soon), but the story is a strong one.

Overall: A very good, slightly spooky story with compelling characters.