Everlost by Neal Shusterman (Fantasy fiction)

Nick and Allie, who have just awoken in a ghostly parallel to the real world, are saved by a boy named Lief, who tells them that they are called "Afterlights" who cannot be seen by the living. They are somewhat like ghosts and retain the exact appearance they had when they died. He warns them of a dreaded and evil monster, the McGill, and Johnnie-O, and the altar boys before they make their way to New York City. There, they meet Mary Hightower, the "mother" of Afterlights who keeps many Afterlights safe and is the author of hundreds of books about living in Everlost. She lives with the children under her care in the destroyed World Trade Center, which exists because things which are much beloved in the world can cross into Everlost when they are destroyed. They settle down, but Allie is not content. Allie notices other Afterlights at the Twin Towers keep repeating and doing the same thing every day, becoming stuck in ruts. Allie sets out with Nick and Lief to see whether he has special powers and they meet The Haunter. Allie gets Lief and Nick captured by The Haunter and learns that she can pick up living things and also possess living people, or "Skinjack". Allie explores her power while Nick begins to discover his own purpose.

I think this is a great, imaginative adventure of the highest caliber with many unexpected turns. It is a great plot-driven novel without losing sight of its characters and their personal journeys in their brand of Afterlife. I like how Neal Shusterman made things in the living world affect the things in Everlost. I recommend this book for people ages 10 and up. Death isn’t an easy subject to write about, but Shusterman handles it deftly, as he explores what happens to two children who are “lost” on their way “towards the light.” Nick and Allie have never met, but both are involved in a fatal car accident. They find they are neither living nor spirit; they now exist in Everlost. Learning to cope with their new state of being, they arrive in New York City, where a band of lost children have taken up residence in the Twin Towers, which still stand tall in Everlost. Led by Mary, the Queen of Snot, threatened by the Great McGill and his pirate band, these children have come to accept that this is where they belong and will always be. But Nick and Allie know there must be something—somewhere—else, and they are determined to find out what and where that is. A quirky sense of humor pervades, which helps to lighten what would otherwise be a disturbing concept. But the overall message (that there is existence afterlife and purpose to that existence and a destination when one is finally ready for it) is one of comfort.

Reviewed by Jason S. 8th Grade