Book Review of "Nevermore" by Kelly Creagh

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Title: Nevermore
Author: Kelly Creagh
Classification: YA Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher

Overall Grade: 

A -

Would I read it again? 

Probably!

Would I recommend it to others? 

Yes!

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Summary (from Goodreads):  

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. 

Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look. 

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her 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 stories 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 imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. 

Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it

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My Thoughts:

Nevermore surprised me. In a good way.

Creagh's characters are well-crafted and lovable. Well, at least the nice ones are. In fact, I was surprised that I liked Isobel so much. Creagh really did a great job at dispelling the nasty, ditsy, backstabbing-biotch reputation that cheerleaders have in media.

I also really like Varen. He was not only dark and mysterious, which is to be expected from most YA lit these days, but intelligent, creative, surprising and troubled.

Another great character was Isobel's new-found friend Gwen. She is completely hilarious and I totally dug her hippy-vibe. Creagh's first few sentences describing Gwen immediately brought an image of Leelee Sobieski as Drew Barrymore's geeky friend in "Never Been Kissed." -->

And here's one of the biggest things that I think made Nevermore succeed where most other YA lit has failed: Isobel is a good protagonist; the reader is allowed to see Isobel grow, change and react to conflicting ideals and emotions in her life. She confronts the strange, the difficult and the heartbreaking and she changes as a result of it.

This may not seem like a big deal, but believe me--it is. Just drop me an email and I'll send you a few examples of books whose protagonists remain static and cardboard... it's not pretty.

Now that I've got all the wonderful things about this book off my chest, I'd like to mention something that just didn't work for me.

The element of the mysterious and paranormal in Nevermore was an interesting plot. However, when it came down to the climax of the novel and the reader is suddenly presented with a huge, involving and complex plot with this element, I found the pull of it strong enough. I was more worried about the personal element of the relationships, and I just wish that Creagh would have taken more time to develop that side of the story so that I could have flipped through those last pages as I did through the first 400.

Yup. This is a beast of a first novel. But I loved all 543 pages of it and I cannot wait for Nevermore #2 to come out.
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Overall Grade: 

A -

Would I read it again? 

Probably!

Would I recommend it to others? 

Yes!

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