Review: Everlost

4/5

For fans of: middle grade YA, found families, multiple POV, lovers-to-enemies, afterlife, lost boys

Synopsis: Welcome to Everlost, a world overlapping our own where destroyed things that were dearly loved can exist forever and those who died too young have a chance to live again. Allie and Nick, victims of a car crash, must learn to navigate this new reality and find their roles in this ode to Neverland.

Review: 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.