Scan barcode
em_murrell's review
3.0
I have had this book in my classroom library for a while now, so I decided to read it to book talk for my 7th graders. I love the Scythe series, and so do a lot of my students. I love the premise of this book. I also love all of the real history worked into Everlost. I think my middle schoolers will love this book, and I will absolutely hype it up for them. However, a lot of it fell kind of flat for me personally. I don’t intend to finish the series.
lindenw's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book (& the whole of the Skinjacker trilogy) has been in the back of my mind since I first read them as they came out so many years ago. Definitely YA, but I had a fun time revisiting the first book of the series & seeing that it still holds up.
ashkitty93's review against another edition
3.0
3-3.5 stars
Similar to Neal Shusterman's other books, this one has a very unique and thought-provoking concept. Unfortunately, this one put me at a bit of a disadvantage as a reader due to my own personal reasons. Not long after picking up Everlost, I had a moment of pure, terrible clarity in facing my biggest fear: death. It still terrifies the wits out of me to think about for too long, but after that I couldn't pick this up for several weeks. So already partway into the book, I was battling with my own thoughts as I read. It got distracting and I often had to set the book aside in favor of something that wouldn't leave me shaking.
Several months later, I'm proud to say I've finished the book. It turned out to be not as good as I'd hoped, but not quite what I had expected either. For that, it gets a middle-ground rating. I honestly don't know if it would have gotten a higher rating had I not had that episode early on. By the end of the book things really picked up and we finally got some answers in this hazy, purgatory-like world. I'll probably finish the trilogy, but it's not a huge priority right now. As it is, I'm glad to be finishing 2015 with a read I'm proud I got through.
Similar to Neal Shusterman's other books, this one has a very unique and thought-provoking concept. Unfortunately, this one put me at a bit of a disadvantage as a reader due to my own personal reasons. Not long after picking up Everlost, I had a moment of pure, terrible clarity in facing my biggest fear: death. It still terrifies the wits out of me to think about for too long, but after that I couldn't pick this up for several weeks. So already partway into the book, I was battling with my own thoughts as I read. It got distracting and I often had to set the book aside in favor of something that wouldn't leave me shaking.
Several months later, I'm proud to say I've finished the book. It turned out to be not as good as I'd hoped, but not quite what I had expected either. For that, it gets a middle-ground rating. I honestly don't know if it would have gotten a higher rating had I not had that episode early on. By the end of the book things really picked up and we finally got some answers in this hazy, purgatory-like world. I'll probably finish the trilogy, but it's not a huge priority right now. As it is, I'm glad to be finishing 2015 with a read I'm proud I got through.
scythefranz's review against another edition
4.0
“But we can't choose what we forget. The more we try to forget something, the more we end up remembering it.”
I should've read Everlost before. Even I idolized and worshipped Neal Shusterman, I stalled myself to read this book because I thought I will not enjoy an afterlife novel. Guess, I was wrong. I really did enjoy reading this one.
Everlost is a limbo between life and death. It's where the dead children go. No adults. Just children up to the age of 14. It's like the afterlife but it is not?
As a novel, Everlost is a fun but haunting one. Fun because there's a great adventure and mysteries to solve. Haunting because it reminds us about the complexity of life and death and everything in-between.
It looks like a book about children playing and doing stuff but it's actually a dark one that convey lessons and realization about existing and not existing. Seriously when I think about it, I got scared of what is waiting for me in the other side or is there really a destination after all of these? What is the feeling of being stucked in a miserable place? Yep, I got scared with those thoughts.
Anyway, I liked how the characters had grown into me, major or minor. Their characterization had been developed so well, I ended up liking them all and very much anticipating what they will do in the sequel. The world-building were superb also. I pictured it fine in my mind and found it truly interesting and disturbing. Shusterman described the Everlost like it was real. But, he left some mysteries to be pondered upon. There are still holes to fill and questions to answer about this bizarre world of the dead children.
As a whole, Everlost is an engrossing read. It captures the child in me and makes me appreciate the fun, adventure, dread, hopes, dreams and worry and everything else experienced by the characters. It lures me to an intriguing and haunting world without having me oriented to what I will stumble upon. And it makes me think about life and death and to what will happen next.
sausome's review against another edition
4.0
Did you ever think about your "soul," or whatever, going on its way toward "the light," whatever that is, in that typical tunnel of what-happens-after-you-die and suddenly being knocked off track by another "soul"? Well, this book thinks about it, and it has an entire story based on that situation where kids get "lost" because the veered off-course on their way to the "light" and ended up in Everlost. Everlost is an in-between world where there are only kids souls, and anything that has died is a solid ground for these souls to "live" on. Everywhere else, their feet begin to sink in to the ground the moment they touch.
This is a pretty cool story about the what-if of afterlife, with some really interesting possibilities and situations and plot that keeps you reading hungrily! Don't let the subtitle bit scare you off (Skinjacker series #1) because a "skinjacking" is the word for one of these kids jumping into a person and getting them to move how they want.
Anyway, will be looking for the next books in the series.
This is a pretty cool story about the what-if of afterlife, with some really interesting possibilities and situations and plot that keeps you reading hungrily! Don't let the subtitle bit scare you off (Skinjacker series #1) because a "skinjacking" is the word for one of these kids jumping into a person and getting them to move how they want.
Anyway, will be looking for the next books in the series.
thestoriedblog's review
4.0
For fans of: middle grade YA, found families, multiple POV, lovers-to-enemies, afterlife, lost boys
I had no idea what to expect when I first begun reading Everlost. All I knew was that it was a reprint of an earlier work by one of my favourite authors and it was about dead kids. I was pleasantly surprised how much fun and charming this story about death could be. I’ve been reading so much adult and darker themes books lately that I’ve forgotten the fun and equally twisted stories of middle school YA. The adventures that Nick and Allie have throughout the book punctuated by the writings of Mary, long-time resident and expert of Everlost, about this intriguing plain of existence builds such a unique world grounded in reality and history but added elements that unsettle the reader and keeps them on edge. Just like in every grimly dark fairytale, nothing is ever as it seems and Nick and Allie find that this other world is full of danger and darkness. Not a single character goes to waste here from our protagonists, to the sidekicks, even the buildings and locations themselves. Each one goes through well written arcs, twisting the story left and right. This is such a fun start to a series and I can’t wait to dig into to the next installments.
For more reviews, check out thestoriedblog.com
I had no idea what to expect when I first begun reading Everlost. All I knew was that it was a reprint of an earlier work by one of my favourite authors and it was about dead kids. I was pleasantly surprised how much fun and charming this story about death could be. I’ve been reading so much adult and darker themes books lately that I’ve forgotten the fun and equally twisted stories of middle school YA. The adventures that Nick and Allie have throughout the book punctuated by the writings of Mary, long-time resident and expert of Everlost, about this intriguing plain of existence builds such a unique world grounded in reality and history but added elements that unsettle the reader and keeps them on edge. Just like in every grimly dark fairytale, nothing is ever as it seems and Nick and Allie find that this other world is full of danger and darkness. Not a single character goes to waste here from our protagonists, to the sidekicks, even the buildings and locations themselves. Each one goes through well written arcs, twisting the story left and right. This is such a fun start to a series and I can’t wait to dig into to the next installments.
For more reviews, check out thestoriedblog.com
morningstardust's review
4.0
This is a great YA read. The book is entirely about death and gaining acceptance of our inevitable fate...but written with a much younger audience in mind. I wish I could have read this when I was a kid, it might have helped me deal with the passing of loved ones. I especially appreciated the down to earth language mixed in with beautifully written reflections on the meaning of life. The terms such as afterlights, ecto-rippers and skinjackers are really creative and interesting and I especially enjoyed the use of the ancient Greek idea of coins as passage to the next realm. The description of the Twin Towers was especially lovingly written. Great book, kept me wanting more, I will continue reading this trilogy for sure.
elgordo's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Imaginative and twisted. Fun to read. I really enjoyed the world the book drew me into.
tobyyy's review
1.0
DNF at 50%
The story wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t pull me in.
I was going to finish it until I realized two things.
First - I wasn’t enjoying it. I had to force myself to pick up this book. If at 50% I’m not invested at all in any of the characters or the plot, I probably won’t be at any point. So forcing myself to finish it was not worth it to me. (Though it’s sad to me that the characters were that unlikable. Ugh.)
Second - the catalyst for me stopping was this sentence: “The truck slammed on its breaks, and pulled over to the side of the street up ahead” (p. 127). Its what? Its BREAKS??? Don’t you mean “BRAKES,” you worthless piece of shit editor? That would’ve been caught in Microsoft Word - you have no excuse for missing that!! Ugh!! Do your job, and help books not suck. That was the last straw.
So yeah. DNF, and absolutely zero regrets.
The story wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t pull me in.
I was going to finish it until I realized two things.
First - I wasn’t enjoying it. I had to force myself to pick up this book. If at 50% I’m not invested at all in any of the characters or the plot, I probably won’t be at any point. So forcing myself to finish it was not worth it to me. (Though it’s sad to me that the characters were that unlikable. Ugh.)
Second - the catalyst for me stopping was this sentence: “The truck slammed on its breaks, and pulled over to the side of the street up ahead” (p. 127). Its what? Its BREAKS??? Don’t you mean “BRAKES,” you worthless piece of shit editor? That would’ve been caught in Microsoft Word - you have no excuse for missing that!! Ugh!! Do your job, and help books not suck. That was the last straw.
So yeah. DNF, and absolutely zero regrets.