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It begins with two strangers, Nick and Allie, who die in a car wreck. They end up in Everlost, which is an alternative reality of the world we live in. They can still see everything that exists in the world, although it's changed some... and certain things that have passed over into Everlost now seem more real than the real world.
The entire story spends a great deal explaining everything, which makes sense since we (the readers) are entering and discovering this new world and new way of being WITH Nick and Allie. I won't summarize the story here, because that seems pointless, but I will give my thoughts on it.
I love how creative Shusterman is with his books. Although some elements of the book seemed more childish, the overall story and the details make up for it. I loved the quoted readings from Mary and Allie's books throughout the story. I enjoyed and appreciated the variety in the story... pirate ships, the Hindenberg, the Twin Towers, Roswell, New Mexico... all incorporated into the story.
One aspect that I kept stumbling on was the names. They are important to the story, as over time the kids would forget their names and instead their nicknames would stick... and the nicknames usually reflected on their appearance (Pinhead, Speedo, Lief, Hershey). However, it seems odd that one would forget their own name (and rather quickly it seemed) yet remember everyone else's names (or nicknames). It also seems odd that some characters (Leaf) had forgotten pretty much everything about their life when they had been alive, yet others can recall how they died, etc. The varying levels of memory was not very consistent.
Also, going along with the memory aspect, sometimes people forgot what they looked like and their appearance would begin to change as well. McGill (a villain in the story) has literally become a monster and WANTS to appear that way... he had forgotten what he looked like. It's only when someone is shown a picture or reminded of how they look (or SHOULD look) that they alter their appearance back.
Overall, I really liked the creativity of the story, and the pacing. I'm looking forward to the next one.
The entire story spends a great deal explaining everything, which makes sense since we (the readers) are entering and discovering this new world and new way of being WITH Nick and Allie. I won't summarize the story here, because that seems pointless, but I will give my thoughts on it.
I love how creative Shusterman is with his books. Although some elements of the book seemed more childish, the overall story and the details make up for it. I loved the quoted readings from Mary and Allie's books throughout the story. I enjoyed and appreciated the variety in the story... pirate ships, the Hindenberg, the Twin Towers, Roswell, New Mexico... all incorporated into the story.
One aspect that I kept stumbling on was the names. They are important to the story, as over time the kids would forget their names and instead their nicknames would stick... and the nicknames usually reflected on their appearance (Pinhead, Speedo, Lief, Hershey). However, it seems odd that one would forget their own name (and rather quickly it seemed) yet remember everyone else's names (or nicknames). It also seems odd that some characters (Leaf) had forgotten pretty much everything about their life when they had been alive, yet others can recall how they died, etc. The varying levels of memory was not very consistent.
Also, going along with the memory aspect, sometimes people forgot what they looked like and their appearance would begin to change as well. McGill (a villain in the story) has literally become a monster and WANTS to appear that way... he had forgotten what he looked like. It's only when someone is shown a picture or reminded of how they look (or SHOULD look) that they alter their appearance back.
Overall, I really liked the creativity of the story, and the pacing. I'm looking forward to the next one.