Saturday 9 June 2012

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Pages - 356
Published by Macmillan Children's Books in 2009

'Guess who?'
Haven's warm, clammy palms press hard against my cheeks as the tarnished edge of her silver skull ring leaves a smudge on my skin. And even though my eyes are covered and closed, I know that her dyed black hair is parted in the middle, her black vinyl corset is worn over a turtleneck (keeping in compliance with our school's dress-code policy), her brand-new, floor-sweeping, black satin skirt already has a hole near the hem where she caught it with the toe of her Doc Martens boots, and her eyes appear gold but  that's only because she's wearing yellow contacts. 


Goodreads Summary
Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . . 
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.
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I have been intrigued by this series for quite some time. I didn't know a lot about it and I stupidly presumed the immortals mentioned were vampires! Shows how much I know! I won't spoil it by telling you how the immortals came about but I will confirm there isn't a vampire in sight.
This is the kind of book I love - this is the kind of book I want to write. I have an unhealthy obsession with the afterlife and anything spiritual, so this book really appealed to me. I really felt Ever's pain at losing her family - her grief really touched my heart.  This book had a question and answer session with the author at the back and I wasn't surprised to discover that this book came about during a period of grief for the author, as she wrote so convincingly about it. 
The settings were fantastic. It had a Beverly Hills type feel to it, with it's sunny beaches, lazy days by the pool and trips to Disneyland. Just with that added touch of the paranormal.
The characters really stood out for me, especially Riley - I absolutely loved her. She was a typical sarcastic, gobby pre-teen and I should know! She was full of spirit, if you pardon the pun, but even though she was dead, she was ballsy and showed no fear. The only thing that seemed to frighten her was leaving Ever behind, showing the emotional ties that hold us beyond the grave. Haven and Miles were like a comedy duo and I found myself sniggering quite a few times at their conversations. 
The plot revolving around Damen took quite a while to peak and I did find myself getting a little impatient to discover the truth. It took me a while to decide whether he was good or bad, as at times he came across as quite dark in nature. 
The book talks about a subject that I have always been a firm believer of - cosmic ordering. I have always  preached to people that we create our own reality to a certain extent and enough wishing and believing can bring us the things we crave. The author uses this theory quite a bit near the end of the story. 
This book isn't brimming with action, it is more of a slow burner as we get to see the truth about Ever and Damen.  It reminded me quite a bit of the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I really enjoyed reading this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 

3 comments:

  1. Hm..you mentioned fallen and then sadly I changed my mind. I really do not think that anything the least like Fallen would be for me

    ReplyDelete

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