emcstjo 's review for:

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

5.0

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(300+) Easily one of my new favorite books. I came into my roommate's room when I finished it and cried on her bed. The ending wasn't sad necessarily, but there are so many different plot twists and emotions throughout the entire thing. I was honestly hooked from cover to cover. The main character is Bee, who decides to rejoin and subtly confront her friends after her sophomore year of college about her boyfriend, Jim's, death back in high school. They are all shocked by her arrival, and insist she goes to this concert with them where they all get trashed. Driving back drunk, the five friends end up in a horrific car accident, but make it back to their house in relatively okay conditions. The next thing they know, an old man who calls himself "The Keeper" arrives on their doorstep and tells them that they're dead. Or dying, rather, and the day will continue to repeat itself until the five of them come to a unanimous vote about which one of them get to live while the other four die. In this whirlwind tale, Pessl addresses suspense, friendship, loss, and acceptance. This book mentions drinking and sex, but is still relatively on the appropriate side. In a classroom setting, I'd gear it more towards high schoolers, but middle schoolers would still thoroughly enjoy this mind-twisting thriller, too.