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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Nevermore

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Atheneum Books)
Pages: 543
Publication Date: August 31, 2010
Type: Paperback, bought
Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear that he'd rather not have anything to do with her, either. But soon Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her freinds and possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying shories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. 

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagned and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Can she save Varen from the madness taking hold of him? Or will they both be consumed by the shadows of his nightmares?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

*Disclaimer* I am writing this semi-blind, so if there are an abundance of typos, please inform me, and I shall go over this as soon as I receive glasses.  Also, it will be rather short.  My apologies.

I so wanted this one to be good.  It seemed to have gotten a much more positive response than the majority of YA PNRs in the market today, and it was based off of Poe. I absolutely adore Poe, so that immediately sold it for me.

I was a bit confused when I originally looked at the rating on Goodreads.  It was not a bad rating, certainly, but not nearly as high a rating as I'd expected, considering all the top reviews were four or five stars.  And then when I finished, I couldn't fathom how people might give this less than a four.  But then I realized.  While I certainly do not have proof of this, I'd wager a guess that the one or two stars came from those who read the first 100 pages or so and then just gave up. DNF. One or two stars.

I will admit that the first 100 pages or so are a bit of a slog.  It would seem that stereotypes and melodrama abound, and there is little-to-no supernatural to be seen.  I was a bit put off, but I reminded myself of the glowing reviews and the fact that this book had 443 pages left, and I pushed on.

I am so glad I did.

This book is everything I wish paranormals of today would be.  It is dark and haunting and ridiculously creative.  It is a book with real characters and real relationships and real emotion.  It doesn't just have a plot  -- it has a crazy, beautiful, ridiculously complex story spanning over 500 pages without dragging.  It is centered largely around the works of a literary god and does him justice.  It has a female main character that thinks for herself and doesn't need a guy to prove her self-worth. It is fantastic.

I could ramble to you for pages about the gorgeous descriptions and incredible characters and mind-blowing world, but I'd rather not, because I think you might get a little tired, and my eyes hurt.  Suffice it to say this book rocked my (nonexistent) socks.  It was not flawless--there were a couple characters, like Alyssa and Mark and Lacy, who did stray into the realm of flat stereotypes, and some aspects of the plot could've picked up a bit sooner.  But honestly, that didn't really affect the sheer awesomeness of this book.  While this is technically a 4.5, I have no regrets in rounding it to a 5.  August had better come soon (or an Enshadowed ARC had better come sooner).



P.S. My friend and I spent about half an hour trying to decipher the words on the cover, despite my sister insisting that the cover maker did not intend them to be deciphered.  We were only able to make out a few small words and phrases.  If anyone else managed to make out more, I would love to hear about it . . . *hint hint*

10 comments:

Anonymous

Maaaaaaaan, now I have to read this because it was good, lol. I wasn't going to originally because I wasn't completely sold, but we have similar tastes so I'll probably like it.

I assumed the words were probably from something by Poe?

Wendy Darling

Hah, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) It ended up being a 3 star book for me, I think, but it's true that sometimes books are worth sticking out--you never know if a book's going to end up being great in the end! Lucky you, that you don't have to wait to read the sequel.

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Lexie

Michelle: Your life is haaaaard. xD But yeah, I think you'd like this one. It's not your usual, but it's really, really good.

I'm assuming so, but it still frustrates the crap out of me. >_>

Wendy: Exactly! I mean, there are always going to be those books that you push through and don't get much reward for, but then there are ones that end up pretty fantastic.

And yeah, I'm glad I read it now and not when it was released because waiting like a year and a half would just not be within my capabilities.

Nicole

*SQUINTS* I think your sister's right, Lexie. I can't make out any of those words. That synopsis does seem amazing--I mean, a world where poetry comes alive? I'm in! (Maybe I'm overly picky, or has the Handsome Cold Aloof Swoon-Worthy Cocky Guy been done too many times?)

Lexie

THEY'RE EASIER TO SEE IN REAL LIFE I PROMISE. You need to get a copy of this and then you shall see.

You are right, the Handsome Cold Aloof Swoon-Worthy Cocky Guy has been beaten to death. Good thing Varen doesn't fit that description. :D

Jaskirat@SeeitORreadit

YAY so glad to hear you enjoyed this one! I didn't love this book as much as you did but I did find it interesting. Gosh if I hadn't already read this book I totally would have picked it up after reading your review! Awesome review :)

Jaskirat~SeeitORreadit

Int. Giveaway!

Lexie

Thank you! :D Yeah, I think some people will definitely enjoy this more than others, but I just thought it was incredibly awesome. *_* I wish Enshadowed was coming out sooner.

Allison

I really really want to read this! It sounds so good. Glad to hear you liked it!

Lexie

It's an awesome read! :) Definitely one to check out.

Coranne

I have been seeing this book everywhere- I am glad you liked it. I love Poe and I think I need to go hunt this book down!

Great review!

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