Review: Nevermore

Nevermore

Kelly Creagh

Publisher: Atheneum

Release Date: August 31, 2010

Pages: 543

Ratings: 3.5 Stars

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.

I did not know what to expect from Nevermore. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, its story and its characters.

Nevermore is the first book in a series and I’m really glad for that, otherwise, I would have been left extremely confused. My general impressions while reading this book were that I really liked it, but I was baffled a bit by the plot while reading it. Often, I found myself questioning what was going on or not understanding it. Thankfully, as I continued to read, questions I had, especially some questions about Varen slowly were revealed. However, at the end of the book, I still was left with many unanswered questions, hopefully questions that will be answered in the sequel.

Kelly Creagh has written a very interesting start to a series. I loved how she incoporated Poe into the story and was very excited to see her use of his stories to full the plot. While Creagh uses aspects of Poe’s stories, she uses them to further enhance her own story and plot. The plot of Nevermore is unique; I did not know where the plot was going and could not anticipate any of the plot twists. Overall, the plot arc was intriguing and set up a great basis for the first book in the series. I’m excited to see the plot arc continue in the next book and see if it answers some of the many questions I was left with.

While I really enjoyed the story and plot of the book, I was confused often, but still ended up really liking the book. The thing that I really loved about this book was its characters. When I read the synopsis, I was expecting the main character, Isobel, to be very vapid and one dimensional, since they describe her as a cheerleader. I was glad to see she had a depth and an actual brain. Isobel was able to stand up for herself and others around her, something I greatly admired, especially when her boyfriend was bullying Varen. Isobel was not superficial like the peers that surrounded her and I was thankful for that. The other character that I really loved, and probably one of the reasons that I really liked this book, was Varen. Varen was everything I expect and more. He is the perfect mix of mystery, broody emotions and hotness. I really enjoyed learning more about him and seeing the many different sides to Varen. While Varen may dress like a goth and intimate the people around him, he really defines the saying “There’s more than meets the eye.” Varen and his mysterious background kept me intrigued and really made me love this story.

At the end of the book, I was still left with many unanswered questions, but thankfully there will be a sequel to follow up this book. I will pick that book up as soon it comes out because I cannot wait to see where Kelly Creagh takes us next and I cannot wait to learn more about Varen and his mysteries.