Thursday 22 April 2010

Evernight by Claudia Gray



Pages - 327

Challenges - Young Adult

Published by Harper Collins in 2008

The burning arrow thudded into the wall. Fire. The old, dry wood of the meeting house ignited in an instant. Dark, oily smoke filled the air, scratching my lungs and making me choke. Around me, my new friends cried out in shock before grabbing weapons, preparing to fight for their lives.

Bianca has to start a new academy and she already knows that she won't fit in. Her parents are to teach there, a bad start already, and the other students are smarter, sleeker and very territorial. The only light at the end of the tunnel, is Lucas, another new student, who warns Bianca to be careful. As their feelings grow for each other, the dark secrets of Evernight Academy race to tear them apart. Will they ever manage to be together.

The last few Young Adult books dealing with either vampires or angels have left me feeling rather dissatisfied, so I was really pleased when I found I couldn't put this book down. Yes, I know it has vampires in and vampires seem to be taking over the underworld of the Young Adult market, but this one is actually very good. I really was vamped out before reading it, yet this book left me desperate for the sequel.

This book has two major twists in it that although I knew they were there, I had no idea what they would be and both twists blew me away. I am not going to tell you what these twists are because I don't want to spoil it for you, but they shocked me and were totaly unexpected. They had me reading back through the previous pages for clues that I should have picked up. I realised the clues were there, only very subtle.

This is definitely a Romeo and Juliet style book with the star crossed lovers desperate to be together and everyone adamant that they will never be as one. This book has a dark Gothic feel to it, which appeals to my inner Victorian, even though it is set in the modern day. The characters are interesting and I felt involved with the story from the beginning.

This is a great easy read, if you want to lighten the load, after reading lots of more in depth books. It is a bit like a carton of Haagan Daz icecream after a week of healthy bran muffins. Sometimes you have to indulge in a little of what you fancy!

Definitely one of the better vampire YA books around at the moment. It ends on a cliffhanger, so if you don't want to get stuck in a series, then maybe this one isn't for you.

Other reviews

Melissa's Bookshelf

The Eclectic Reader

13 comments:

  1. I have this book and the next one sitting on my book shelf. I really must get to it!

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  2. Is that the opening paragraph? What a great way to start, it sounds wonderfully dramatic.

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  3. I normally don't read too many YA books, but this one sounds great. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

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  4. I haven't gotten into the vampire books at all, but if I ever do, this sounds like the one to start with.

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  5. I didn't realize vampire books were so much in vogue (thanks to Twilight, I suppose). This one sounds quite good, and I love the red cover and cryptic-looking title.

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  6. I'm glad to hear this is good! But I worry that seeing vampires everywhere has put me off them for a while.

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  7. this sounds great! the cover is genius.

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  8. One of the better YA vamp books, hm, since I seems to get so annoyed by YA vamps...but it does sound good

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  9. Never will I have enough of vamps - mind you, I think the only YA ones I've read have been the Twilight ones... I think, probably wrong. Most of my vamp history has been adult stuff though, Anne Rice, Jim Butcher, Tom Holland etc, etc...

    This one definitely is already on my list, I'll have to bump it up to nearer the top now I'm coming to the end of my box set (last book! Panic, panic!)

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  10. Isn't that cover art great too? Glad to hear you enjoyed this one! I love a good vampire tale but agree that lately it seems a new vamp book comes out every day and not all necessarily great. I definitely want to check this one out.

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  11. This sounds like a book I should put on my TBR list. Another great review!

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  12. I don't mind getting stuck in a series; in fact, I think I would be happy getting stuck in a good one because then I'd have something to look forward to. Thanks for the review, Viv!

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