Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Everlost (Skinjacker #1)

by Neal Shusterman (Goodreads Author)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 12,226 ratings · 1,612 reviews

Nick and Allie don't survive the car accident...

...but their souls don't exactly get where they're supposed to get either. Instead, they're caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no onger exist. It's a magical, yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run...more

Hardcover, 313 pages

Published August 22nd 2006 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Books You Wish More People Knew About

18th out of 6,879 books — 6,871 voters

Books That Should Be Made Into Movies

269th out of 12,720 books — 35,080 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 01, 2011 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, children-s-middle-school, series-dropped-lost-steam

Everlost reminded me of several books I felt rather lukewarm about - Elsewhere, Lord of the Flies and Gone. It deals with afterlife (specifically, the limbo between life and death) and kids behaving badly when left on their own.

I can see why fans of Unwind would be underwhelmed by Everlost. I was too, a little. It is a good book, but it is clearly a children's book. There are no adults in it, the characters are all under 15. Even when the story handles very serious matters (that scared and creep...more

32 likes · like · see review

Sep 11, 2010 Mariel rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lauren

Recommended to Mariel by: what are you saving?

I swear on my dog's life that Neal Shusterman's Everlost is pure awesomeness.

Kids who die go to a sort of place but not a place existing between life and death called Everlost. If they stay there instead of passing on, they have to stay in areas called "dead spots", where a significant death has happened. (Main kids Allie and Nick's car accident took place by a forest that has burned down. Sometimes a spot is massive, such as the entire city of Atlanta (seen in the second in the Skinjacker tril...more I swear on my dog's life that Neal Shusterman's Everlost is pure awesomeness.

Kids who die go to a sort of place but not a place existing between life and death called Everlost. If they stay there instead of passing on, they have to stay in areas called "dead spots", where a significant death has happened. (Main kids Allie and Nick's car accident took place by a forest that has burned down. Sometimes a spot is massive, such as the entire city of Atlanta (seen in the second in the Skinjacker trilogy, Everwild). These spots are what is still real to the kids, and the "live" spots they will sink right through if they stay there for any time. [I loved the details, like Shusterman thought of everything.] Food passes through if it had some special meaning to a person, like birthday cakes. That doesn't happen often. Fortune cookies are everywhere (there's more to this I shall say nothing about, lest I become too spoilerific), however. (Shusterman put a lot of thought into realizing the world of Everlost. The detail is half the fun.) Kids who have made their er living in Everlost trade in a black market (there's no law but it still feels black market all the same. Probably 'cause the trading gets dirty) of rare goods such as food, or vehicles that have passed through (one character drives the Hindenburg. I must say I enjoyed the way he played with disasters from the past).

Every kid has a coin on them (representing the payment to pass on). If they have no unfinished business, their coin will take them back. An older kid Mary Hightower (her name comes from her dominion of the world trade center) thinks she knows what is best for everyone else, and it is in her best interest to keep kids from passing on. She loves to be needed. One way she does this is ensure that kids forget themselves by installing them in meaningless routines (she'd get along great with The Terrible Trivium from The Phantom Tollbooth). The coins? Mary Her High and mighty Highness has them throw away in a wishing well. (Evil isn't she.)

Mary Hightower is one of my favorite villains of ya fiction. She means well, but lord is she infuriating. Mary Hightower publishes manifestos to lead lost kiddos to her cause. Her propaganda is far reaching.

The lost kiddos have to remind themselves constantly of themselves. Most cannot remember their old names for long, let alone what they really looked like. They become what they feel like they look like, and that can lead to becoming something of a darker nature. If they can't remember themselves, they'll be in Everlost forever (under that hoity toity Mary Hightower? Yikes!). The other baddie of the book is the monster McGill, another Everlost legend, with a decidedly less than friendly reputation than that of Mary Hightower. There is more to Everlost than the inhabitants will have Nick and Allie believe. (It's a bit like prison in that the worst part is the other inhabitants. The whole black market thing put me immediately in mind of prison. Something might be wrong with my mind.) I enjoyed their story in this bizarre little death world.

Nick is determined to stop Mary Hightower (too bad he's also in love with her). Allie wants to see her family again, and is still stuck to her old life. Their friend Leif from the forest is something like one of Peter Pan's Lost Boys.

I wouldn't lie where this little guy is concerned. (Even if he is a ventriloquist pooter. The crafty little devil blames me for all his farts, from silent but deadly to the musical variety.)(less)

14 likes · like · see review

Oct 29, 2009 Hannah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I'm having a hard time trying to determine how I feel about Everlost. After reading and greatly enjoying "Unwind", I was eager to read another book Shusterman had written.

On the one hand, as an adult reading it, I definitely found the writing style geared for juvenile readers around the age of 10-13 (which is who the book is marketed for). On the other hand, I also continually wondered at the appeal to these same readers based on the way Shusterman presented his ideas on the afterlife of dead c...more

12 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Nick and Allie never would have met had their parents' cars not collided on a hairpin turn one day. If only Nick's parents had not hit a piece of steel lying in the road which caused them to blow a tire and head into the oncoming lane of traffic directly in the path of Allie's father. The accident happened so fast that neither felt any pain. The only recollection they have is of landing on the ground in the woods and feeling very tired.

What happens to...more Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Nick and Allie never would have met had their parents' cars not collided on a hairpin turn one day. If only Nick's parents had not hit a piece of steel lying in the road which caused them to blow a tire and head into the oncoming lane of traffic directly in the path of Allie's father. The accident happened so fast that neither felt any pain. The only recollection they have is of landing on the ground in the woods and feeling very tired.

What happens to children when they get knocked off track on their "way to where they are going?" Neal Shusterman has created the Everlost. A place where children end up if they get thrown off track on their way through the tunnel of light. When Nick and Allie landed in Everlost they slept for nine months before waking up. They were greeted by an eleven-year-old boy named Lief. Lief had been in the forest for a very long time; so long, in fact, he didn't actually remember his name. He made one up when the two asked him what it was.

When you are in Everlost, you are considered an Afterlight. You have a slight glow about you all the time and you have to be very careful where you walk. You are only safe on things or places that have crossed over to Everlost. Otherwise the Afterlight will sink into the ground and go straight to the middle of the Earth and wait there until the end of time. Nick and Allie had to learn the tricks to living in Everlost pretty quickly if they wanted to stay aboveground. They had to get used to walking amongst the living and the feeling of things passing through them.

Not knowing what else to do, Allie and Nick decided to go home and Lief decided to go with them since he hadn't left the forest in about a hundred years. They fashioned "snow shoes" to make it easier to walk on the ground so they wouldn't sink. When they got as far as New York, they found quite a surprise. Standing in the distance, glowing with the radiance of an Afterlight, stood the Twin Towers. They would forever stand in the Everlost because of the terrible tragedy that took place on 9-11-2001. There they met a large group of children living there and being cared for by a young lady named Mary Hightower.

Mary Hightower considered herself the authority of all things in Everlost. She authored many books on different subjects in order to assist new Afterlights in making the transition from the living world. Nick and Allie had different opinions of Mary. Nick almost immediately fell in love with her; Allie considered most of the things she said malarkey. Eventually, Allie decided to go her own way and convinced Nick and Lief to come with her. It didn't turn out to be a very good idea. While they were searching for someone they thought might be able to teach them new skills to use, they met with some mean people. Nick and Lief were sealed in old pickle barrels that were still filled with the brine and then taken prisoner by the monster of Everlost, the McGill.

After some clever thinking on Allie's part and Mary showing up in the Hindenburg, the McGill is overthrown and many Afterlights are rescued. Everyone plans to go back to the Twin Towers until Nick makes a very important discovery. He thinks he knows how to "get people to where they are going." This doesn't sit well with Mary. She likes her role as caretaker of the lost souls and doesn't want them leaving. This puts Nick and Mary on the opposite ends of the issue. Meanwhile, Allie is content and the McGill receives redemption.

Neal Shusterman has created a never-before-seen world that includes adventure and fantasy. The reader won't want the story to end. EVERLOST wraps up nicely, yet there could easily be a sequel. (less)

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2009 Arlene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2009, childrens

Well there's one lesson I learned from this book, never teach your kids to stay put when they get lost. This book taught me the importance of trying to find your way to where you're going no matter what the challenges or obstacles you're faced with. I picked up Everlost because I was captivated by Shusterman's book Unwind. It's good, just not Unwind's caliber of great.

This story is about two souls, Allie and Nick, that are in a fatal car accident. Upon their death and on their way to the 'light...more

12 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2012 Devon rated it 5 of 5 stars

In Everlost, the first book of the Skinjacker Trilogy, Neal Shusterman takes a questioned subject, a life in between real life and the afterlife, and puts an engaging spin on it with literally out of this world characters and crazy schemes about ending the world. Everlost is a fiction book that grasps for your attention. There are other books, such as the Percy Jackson books, that keep you constantly engaged, but this book is about a place that no one has any proof of existing, so you have to re...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 07, 2013 JennyJen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, blah, booooring, expected-so-much-more, ghosts, lackluster-series-start, meh, no-soup-for-you, reviewed, series, very-young-adult, read-2012

This book is really a teeter between 2 and 3 stars, but I've always been a magnanimous chick. While I was fascinated by some of the more fantastical elements, I was fantastically bored by most of it.

This book came highly recommended to me by my BFF’s 15 year old son. He’s been insisting I read it for well over a year and I finally got around to it. I’m dreading that I have to tell him that for me, it was only slightly better than “SUCKS”.

It’s fortunate, for the book and my BFF’s kid, that I got...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 18, 2011 Strange Angels rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, ch-ghosts, male-pov, 4stars, young-adult

Everlost promete y mucho. Hacía tiempo que un libro no me gustaba tanto pero aún así hay ciertos aspectos que no acaban de cuajar.

Aunque la trama sea predecible son las normas de Everlost lo que sacan la novela de la monotonía y los personajes.
Como en todos sitios, Everlost tiene normas como que al ser una neoluz no puedes andar por donde quieras ya que te puedes hundir y llegar a centro de la tierra, ... Los personajes tienen caracteres muy opuestos y eso hace que todo sea perfecto.
Y por supue...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 01, 2010 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Addicting, creative, fascinating tale that weaves something that could have been either cliched or overly creepy into something brilliant and original.

Allie and Nick are dead, killed instantly in a car crash that involved their respective family's cars. According to the laws of the universe, they should have crossed over. But the thing is, not all children cross over. Some trip, stumble, or resist the journey into the light...and end up in Everlost, just like Allie and Nick have.

Everlost is a b...more Addicting, creative, fascinating tale that weaves something that could have been either cliched or overly creepy into something brilliant and original.

Allie and Nick are dead, killed instantly in a car crash that involved their respective family's cars. According to the laws of the universe, they should have crossed over. But the thing is, not all children cross over. Some trip, stumble, or resist the journey into the light...and end up in Everlost, just like Allie and Nick have.

Everlost is a between-place, and Shusterman throws it wide open in amazing, utterly commendable style. Rarely does an author have the talent to make a world their own so fully, as well as flesh the characters that inhabit it. There are rules to be followed, monsters to be feared, leaders to be looked to. It is a full and fascinating world in its own right.

Allie and Nick are different from most Afterlights; they're not content simply to wander eternally, forgetting their lives and falling into ruts of endless patience. They want answers, they want life, and they refuse to take no for an answer.

But their quest will take them into the heart of New York and up and down the East Coast as they become enmeshed among Everlost's most well-known characters; Mary Hightower, who zealously protects the Afterlight children who come under her care; the Alter Boys, a rough and tumble gang who only respect might; the Haunter, who knows all kinds of tricks for interacting with the living; and the McGill, the horrific monster whose very name terrifies everyone who hears it. And the further the two go, the more they realize what powers they possess, and how they fit into the grand scheme of Everlost.

Weaving all these and more together, and exploring their relationships, their motivations and personalities, and in the end their destinies, Shusterman has truly made a stunning beginning novel to this trilogy. None of Everlost's components are heavy-handed or ridiculous. Any religious or scientific quarrels are neatly circumvented, as reaching the afterlife beyond Everlost is simply referred to as "getting where you're going." Real world places, things, and events are cleverly and tastefully referenced, often in unexpected and amusing ways (I especially found the significance of the Twin Towers to be creative and well-handled, and keep an eye out for a hilarious Amityville Horror reference.)

All in all, I can't wait to return to Everlost in the sequel.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 19, 2010 Janette added it

If you look at this book as having a new, creative setting (earth for the lost souls of children who somehow got knocked out of the tunnel after they died) it's a cute story. However, if you read the book and think it's proposing doctrine about the afterlife, you're not going to like it. And I admit that as a parent it was hard to read about the spirits of children sinking to the center of earth where they would be trapped until the earth exploded. Surely God isn't as disorganized or uncaring to...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 26, 2009 Dalton rated it 4 of 5 stars

So far, only four chapters in, I am already hooked. Everlost is the place between life and death, or heaven and hell. It is a "dead zone" where ghost can stay without sinking into the Earth like out in the living world. Car crash victims, Allie and Nick, have met in the forest of Everlost and unfortunatley, found themselves... dead. A young boy that the two first met in the forest is named Lief and he has been there for hundreds of years. Just recently mentioned, the McGill is the monster of Eve...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2009 Lauren added it

This book is Awesome. I recommened it to anyone

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2013 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy-sci-fi

I have to say that this was one of the more original ideas I've run across in a while (I also thought that about his Unwind book). Shusterman comes up with some things I've never thought of. In this book, Allie and Nick are killed when their families' cars collide. On the way to that 'bright light,' they jostle each other and are sent off course to Everlost. Nine months later they awake to a young boy, Lief, watching them. As they quickly come to realize they are dead but haven't made it to 'whe...more

like · see review

Apr 12, 2013 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, books-at-sf-library, ghost-story, juvenile

I would probably give this 2.5 stars. It was...odd. Very odd.

I think what probably bothered me is that it truly is meant for a juvenile audience and yet some disturbingly dark things are going on here. The premise of the story is a little like Peter Pan's lost boys. Children who are supposed to make it into the after life are knocked off course and sent into the land of Everlost. Nick and Allie are new to Everlost, and they discover it is a strange place where they may be doomed to spend eterni...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 11, 2013 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-book-challenge-150, ya-books, sci-fi-fantasy

Another Shusterman series I had not taken the time to read. What a mistake to have waited so long. He introduces an intriguing concept -- lost souls of children and teens who somehow missed going to heaven, that bright light at the end of the tunnel, and ended up in Everlost. They lose everything -- their names, their faces...but they are safe and happy...or so Mary tells them.

Allie and Nick accidentally cause each other to be knocked off their trajectory to heaven. They have to learn the rules...more

like · see review

Apr 08, 2013 Bass Drop (Joshua) Burda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. -Contains traces of spoilers and references to mature content.
I can't say I hated it, but there were a few things that I didn't like about it.
First of all, if this so called everlost is where everything that USED to exist now exists here, How in the hell do people from the real world walk down the streets normally. Wouldn't they walk through walls or something?
Oh, Mary get's a cake because after over 100 birthdays this one finder went through, one finally dropped to the floor. Have you ever see...more -Contains traces of spoilers and references to mature content.
I can't say I hated it, but there were a few things that I didn't like about it.
First of all, if this so called everlost is where everything that USED to exist now exists here, How in the hell do people from the real world walk down the streets normally. Wouldn't they walk through walls or something?
Oh, Mary get's a cake because after over 100 birthdays this one finder went through, one finally dropped to the floor. Have you ever seen a cake just fall through the floor, or does it just stay there? If your following me, it still exists. I would personally eat it anyway. That's some good 20$ cake your wasting there.
Finally, skinjacking. I'd say, Have you even felt something controlling you in your lifetime? If there's one or two people who say there was some weird spirit talking in their ear, almost killing them.
But to counteract everything that really did not make sense, I'd say it realistically explores what could happen to you if you stumble into the world of Everlost. It was well built, the plot (HUEHUEHUEHUE No jk) was very fluid, and even the worst of enemies could become the best of friends.
Now the characters
-Mary
I'd say she was the worst person of the story, betraying her children so she could have her own society. She knew about those damned coins, and didn't want to tell anybody about it. The epilogue with her in it just made her even worse.. in a morality way.
-Mcgill
John REALLY didn't make the Mcgill of this story a real badass. Oh, he just pendulum'd 1000 kids- wait nevermind. However, his friendship with Alice was his downfall, but above all things, he saves her anyway.
-Alice
She wasn't as evil as I actually thought she would be. I thought she would skinjack someone and shoot up the whole place, but hey, it's a Scholastic book, remember?
-Lief
I can't really say much about him. He was really just another person who lived in the woods alone. I thought I remembered you sank into the ground faster as well if your alone, but I don't remember many books entirely. He did go with the repetiveness of everyone else in the city with that pacman game, but hey, it's almost inevitable.
-Mark (If it's a wrong name, I told you I don't remember full books)
sure, let's go with the Alice revolution. This mark guy took an entire book of Mary's, ripped it up, and wrote his name on every scrap of paper. Talk about craziness. However, he does stay in the Everlost in the end, as he's the one running around freeing people, or "getting them to where they were going"
(less)

like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Claudio Coleman rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Neal Shusterman's "Everlost", a car accident causes Nick and Allie to get killed but they both lose their way to the light and get stuck in a world between life and death called Everlost. In Everlost, the living world is blurred and an afterlight (an inhabitant of Everlost) cannot stand in one place too long or they'll sink to the center of the Earth. Throughout Everlost exists deadspots however, solid ground that belongs to everlost that exist in areas where someone died or of an area strong...more

like · see review

Jan 17, 2013 Ryan S rated it 5 of 5 stars

This past quarter I had a great time reading Everlost, by Neal Shusterman. It was a great book to test your imagination and make you think of what life would be like if this happened to you. What if there is another life after death, but not heaven.

Everlost, a place between life and heaven. It is like a far off world. A book that you this book can relate to is The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. It relates to this book because of the mystical world that is created by the author. The world...more This past quarter I had a great time reading Everlost, by Neal Shusterman. It was a great book to test your imagination and make you think of what life would be like if this happened to you. What if there is another life after death, but not heaven.

Everlost, a place between life and heaven. It is like a far off world. A book that you this book can relate to is The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. It relates to this book because of the mystical world that is created by the author. The world seems like a far off world that you would never think would be real, but the authors do a great job on making it real.

“I fell off of a tree, how didn’t I get hurt.” “In this place you don’t get hurt from falling.”

The book is about two kids named Nick and Allie that got killed in a car crash. But they didn’t make it to where they were going, they made it to Everlost. Laurie Halse did a great job with characterization by putting great detail into both main characters. Allie is more outgoing than Nick is, this makes a conflict because Allie wants to explore this new world but Nick just wants to figure out what happened. Neal Shusterman did a great job making the characters basically opposite which in return made the story a lot more enjoyable.

“ I stepped over the line separating the shoulder from the road. “Don’t” Nick shouted.”

There were many conflicts in the novel, but there was one main one that stood out to me. Allie, instead of staying with Mary who is like the guardian of the children in Everlost. What led Allie to do this was all the other “afterlights” got into ruts. This means that they did the same thing every day, for the all of eternity. That was something that Allie did not want to happen. Allie decides that she wants to learn how to “haunt”. Instead of going alone she brings both of her friends, Nick and Lief, with her. This turns out to not work out as she plans, because both of her friends get locked in barrels and she is sent out to try and figure out how to get them out. When Allie comes back with re-enforcements, she finds the building empty, but one barrel left. The person in the barrel tells Allie that “The McGill” took her friends, bad thing about this is that “The McGill” is the most feared creature in all of Everlost. This conflict makes me want to keep reading because it is so interesting, I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.

“The McGill knows how to hurt you in other ways. It knows how to hurt you in other ways. It will make you suffer until the end of time, and it’ll do it, if it gets the chance.”

Since the novel is fiction it helps me put my imagination to work better than other genres would. If it was non-fiction or realistic fiction then I would interpret the novel as real and I would have no reason to use my imagination. The only thing that I don’t really care for is sometimes it can get a little outrageous.

Some people are not who you think they are. That is the big picture of the novel, people may seem nice on the outside, but on the inside be evil. Mary is the guardian of the kids and is always doing what is best for the kids, even if it means losing one or two. But Mary is hiding something very important, she is holding back the kids from getting where they were going. But if I tell more then I will give away the ending. In society this is very big thing, people think people are really good people, but they are actually just faking it. So just make sure you are trusting the right people.

I gave this book a 5 out of 5 because of the overall greatness of the book. I thought the book had a great plot and it made sense on what was happening. This book never got boring even in the beginning it was interesting. This is why I gave it that rating and I recommend this to all readers. It is a good read for anyone. (less)

like · see review

Dec 20, 2012 Christiana L rated it 4 of 5 stars

Everlost
By: Neal Shusterman
Review By: Christiana Loyola

Ever wonder what happens to you after death? Heaven? Hell? Everlost, a place between life and death. That’s what this book is all about. I started reading this book, not knowing a lot about it, but what I did know, did not interest me. The book was not at all what I was expecting. Everlost is not an usual ghost story, instead it is an adventure.

“A white Toyota crashed into a black Mercedes, for a moment blending into a blur of gray.” Nick an...more Everlost
By: Neal Shusterman
Review By: Christiana Loyola

Ever wonder what happens to you after death? Heaven? Hell? Everlost, a place between life and death. That’s what this book is all about. I started reading this book, not knowing a lot about it, but what I did know, did not interest me. The book was not at all what I was expecting. Everlost is not an usual ghost story, instead it is an adventure.

“A white Toyota crashed into a black Mercedes, for a moment blending into a blur of gray.” Nick and Allie don’t survive the crash, yet they do not die. They somewhat fall into a tunnel that catapults them towards “the light”. Both spinning out of control to the light, eventually bumping into each other and don’t make it to the light. They sleep for nine months and wake up confused in everlost. Everything about Everlost was so creative and unique that I found myself turning to see what happens next!

This book has everything! It starts with a well planned out plot! With twists, drama, delight, adventure, danger, pain, loss, love, hope and all the way to its perfect ending! The characters really have strong feelings, they are what create these things! Nick a 14 year old, half-Japanese boy. He is more of a follower, not much of a leader. When he passed, he was in wedding attire and had chocolate on his face. Since he died like that, he is now stuck in formal clothes and a chocolate covered mouth for eternity. Allie a brave 14-year-old girl . She discovers that she has the gifted ability to "skinjack" (possess) people. Those are the main characters, other characters such as Mary were also important. She was one who created much conflict throughout the book. Mary is self-proclaimed “expert” on Everlost. She was known to have written many books on living in the world between life and death. Mary thinks of herself as the mother of the many children stuck in everlost, only because she is the oldest inhabitants she kept.

Mary created conflict because she was trying to keep all of the green souls at her tower. She won’t let Nick, Allie, Lief, or any of the children leave, yet Allie wanted to go home. Allie and Mary fought back and forth, with hatred and selfishness.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! It’s quite a good read. If you enjoy action and ghost stories, I say you should read it.(less)

like · see review

Dec 14, 2012 Duffy Pratt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, fantasy

Here's a kid's book that dabbles a bit in epistemology, the foundations of faith, and the creation of legends, and all without being either ponderous or pretentious. The basic story is pretty simple. Allie wants to go home. She needs to go home to find out whether her parents died in the same car accident that she died in.

She and Nick, a kid in the other car in the crash, wound up in a world that's not the living world and not truly the afterlife. They saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but...more

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

What if your light at the end of the tunnel burned out? What if your train to Nirvana derailed? How about your reincarnation stopped by Depo?

If any of these things stopped you from moving on, you may end up in Everlost, as Allie and Nick found out after a fatal car crash left them in a luscious forest. As this pair get acquainted with their new afterlife, they stumble across an assortment of villains, horrors, and a bibliophile. Or maybe you could call the bibliophile the "Life After Death for...more What if your light at the end of the tunnel burned out? What if your train to Nirvana derailed? How about your reincarnation stopped by Depo?

If any of these things stopped you from moving on, you may end up in Everlost, as Allie and Nick found out after a fatal car crash left them in a luscious forest. As this pair get acquainted with their new afterlife, they stumble across an assortment of villains, horrors, and a bibliophile. Or maybe you could call the bibliophile the "Life After Death for Dummies" superstar author.

The characters in this book really fell flat. For someone we spend the majority of the book with (Allie), we really don't get a good feel for her or really step into her character much - and the person who really seems to turn the book around (Nick), we see very little of and don't know him much by the time the book ends. The one character I feel we connected most with, that had the most real emotions coming through were Mary and Vari. We got to see more of their personality instead of being told what it was.

The villain in the book seemed... for lack of a better term, nonthreatening. Ugly, very much so. Rude. UH-HUH. Evil?? Nope.

It was an easy read, the story moved along, but at times, it really didn't feel like we were doing much. It almost seemed like scenes were put in there just to fill the time. The plot isn't deep, the ending is pretty predictable, and there isn't much to the suspense. I know this is labeled for a younger reader, but I still believe that this could have had a few subplots woven in for the enjoyment of older readers, especially given Shusterman's fan base.

One thing that really and truly upset me were the amount of errors found in the book. This is a book put out by one of the biggest publishing houses out there. There is no reason to have as many errors as there are in this book. Self-published authors get slammed on a daily basis because of their lack of editing, and the big houses are putting out books that are entertaining, yes - but also riddled with blatant errors. There were instances of two characters speaking in the same paragraph, commas missing from the end of dialogue, "id" being used instead of "is" and the list goes on.

I feel that, especially in a book that is aimed at younger readers, our goal is to show them how English SHOULD be written, not by throwing a popular author's book out there full of errors because the publishing house knows it will sell.

I'm giving this book a three-star rating because the storyline was interesting, I was able to finish it, and I wasn't bored to death. However, I will say that I am getting increasingly more angry at the large publishing houses for their lax editing and formatting on their eBooks.

As a whole, I am not interested enough in the series to pick up book two. I will, however, be reading book two of his Unwind series (which I thought was brilliant). Everlost is the second book of Shusterman's that I have read, and while I'm not thrilled with it, I haven't given up on him as an author. I want to see what else he has in store for me in his other books. :) (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book Everlost is the first book in the Skinjacker trilogy. The story follows the adventures of Allie and Nick, who were thrusted into Everlost when their cars collided on the interstate. Nick and Allie felt the light, wind, and rush upon them when they first looked into the light. But in heat of the moment Nich and Allie collided in the tunnel and dropped away from the light in a deep endless sleep. When they awoke a kid who was already in Everlost explained what had happened to them and wh...more

like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Aileen Shara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Descent book. Life-after-death novels are usually overrated since the idea is so overused, but this one isn't bad. Hardly amazing, but worth three stars by my standards. I picked it up at the library because I wanted to check out Shusterman's second Unwind book, but whoever checked it out has had it two weeks longer than the due date, so I added this one to my stack of books instead. Recommended read, but don't expect too much depth. Descent plot twists, but this is hardly a Tolkein-esque series...more

like · see review

Oct 08, 2012 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nick and Allie, unfortunately, suffer a car accident and, rather than following the light, they tumble out of the tunnel into Everlost where souls wander, literally ever lost until they're "ready" and are equipped with what they need to go where they're meant to. The two are died together BUT their "lives" become entwined with new characters they meet along the way-Nick and Mary and Allie and Mikey. It's easy to enjoy their journey and their new relationships IF YOU CAN FORGET THAT THEY'RE DEAD...more Nick and Allie, unfortunately, suffer a car accident and, rather than following the light, they tumble out of the tunnel into Everlost where souls wander, literally ever lost until they're "ready" and are equipped with what they need to go where they're meant to. The two are died together BUT their "lives" become entwined with new characters they meet along the way-Nick and Mary and Allie and Mikey. It's easy to enjoy their journey and their new relationships IF YOU CAN FORGET THAT THEY'RE DEAD (although I have a sneaking suspicion that Allie might be in a coma-she has special powers that remind me of Ghost Dad). It's heartbreaking to read about these tragic accidents that happen to kids, about their desire to grow and being stymied by death and purgatory. It's not exactly a light read for kids so I don't know that I'd recommend this to my students. But I'm interested enough to continue reading the rest in the trilogy.

Favorite Lines:
p109
"Wanderlust is a dangerous thing. In Everlost there's a safety in staying put."
p141
"The darkness became a starless infinity that stretched into empty space. His spirit filled the emptiness from one of infinity to the other. This, he knew, is what God must have felt like before creation. A single spirit in a formless liquid eternity. It was a feeling of such power, tiume itself seemed to stop in its tracks. Lief felt as if he was the entire universe, and nothing, at the same time. So glorious was this sensation of timelessness..."
p169
"A brave man's life is worth a thousand cowardly souls."
p214
"Of course it's [world] going to end. Probably not for a hundred billion years, but eventually the sun will die, the Earth will blow up, and every kid who's ever sunk to the core will be free to zoom around the universe or do whatever it is Afterlights do when there's no gravity to deal with anymore...You become nothing but spirit. Pretty soon you can't tell where you end, and where they Earth begins...and you suddenly find that you don't care. You suddenly find that you have endless patience. Enough patience to wait until the end of the world."-"Rest in peace. Maybe that's what they mean."-It was perhpas a great mercy of the universe, that lost souls who could do nothing but wait were blessed with everlasting peace.
p261
"It was like his whole existence were a jigsaw puzzle that finally had every single piece in place. No matter what image the puzzle showed...it didn't matter because the puzzle was complete. He was complete, and that mattered more than his circumstance. No amount of unpleasantness could take away that sense of absolute completion...He was content to simply be."
"They fought so hard against everything: so full of fear, loneliness, resentment, anger...there was only one feeling left to him. Patience. Patience to wait for whatever came next."
p272
A nice twist

*If you enjoyed this, you may like Elsewhere. (less)

like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Forrest rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For starters, let me say that 1) I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nick Podehl (whose voice acted as a great soporific as I was trying to drive across the US with my family - thankfully the rock we took in the windshield outside of Denver kept me awake) and 2) I'm not the biggest fan of children's books, and this is definitely a children's book.

I found the central conceit intriguing: Those who die, but don't get "where they're going" find themselves in limbo. The rules are different here....more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 26, 2012 Elli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Letto in un giorno.
L'adolescente che, nonostante gli anni che passano, alberga ancora in me l'ha trovato davvero intrigante.
Due macchine che viaggiano in senso opposto, un incidente. Un ragazzo e una ragazza si risvegliano nove mesi dopo solo per scoprire che... non sono più in vita. Sono arrivati a Everlost, un mondo che scorre parallelo al nostro, praticamente sovrapposto, dove finiscono tutti coloro (sempre e solo ragazzi) che non sono riesciti ad arrivare "là dov'erano diretti". Comincia c...more

like · see review

May 31, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

This guy grows on me all the time! Neal Shusterman is a master, especially at stand-alone novels of awesomeness.

It wasn't quite as remarkable as Unwind, but neither did it have the somewhat depressing dystopian air. The idea of "ghosts" in limbo was really creative and very well handled.

There was almost no violence (ghosts can't be hurt), but still very active and exciting, especially in the second half, so YEAH!

Again, I'm very impressed with NS's ability to create 3Dimensional characters with...more

like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another novel that calls for half-star ratings. (As in, three and a half.) I didn't like this one as much as "Unwind"; "Everlost" is written for a younger audience, I think. Everlost (the place) is where dead children go "when they don't get to where they're going." Allie and Nick are in a car wreck, are traveling down a dark tunnel towards a bright light, when they bump into each other and careen off course and wake up in Everlost.

The idea of Everlost was disturbing to me -- lost dead children?...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 28, 2012 Rylee Stiles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Everlost
Have you ever wonder where you would go if you died? Well that’s what Everlost is all about. This boy and girl die in a car accident and woke up in the woods and they just thought that their parents for got them but really their after lights. They are stuck between life and death, not knowing how to get out but they think they know a way. This book is full of action, mystery and makes you think death, life, and what is between.
In this book the characters are realist but not how they li...more Everlost
Have you ever wonder where you would go if you died? Well that’s what Everlost is all about. This boy and girl die in a car accident and woke up in the woods and they just thought that their parents for got them but really their after lights. They are stuck between life and death, not knowing how to get out but they think they know a way. This book is full of action, mystery and makes you think death, life, and what is between.
In this book the characters are realist but not how they live in Everlost. They don’t have any internal organs or even bones, when they fall or physically get hurt in any way they don’t feel it and it heels right away, and one of the most important rules out of all of them is whatever ground is dead old and rotten they can walk on and whatever is new and from the real world they can’t walk on otherwise they will sink right to the core and they will never come back, and anything they had on them in their pocket or cloths or anything that was on their face stay with them when they enter Everlost. But other than that they actually are like real people not just creepy ghost or anything. One of the main characters Allie is stubborn and everything has to be her way and she doesn’t really like to believe in things that were not real in live that are real in Everlost and Nick is on Allie side about it but he is little boy and he is obviously scared about the whole situation.
They meet all kinds of people when they are there and they lead them to home which is where they are heading the first place but instead they take them to Mary the self-proclaimed queen of lost kids and Nick feels like he’s home but Allie doesn’t like the idea of eternity in Everlost , between worlds. Before they left a kid they met which they named Lief told them about a monster that actually exists in Everlost that hates children and that is one problem that they run into in this book.
I like this book because it makes you look at life and everything in a different way and its weird, you don’t necessarily have to believe it. It’s a different kind of book that is full of all kinds of stuff action, mystery all different kinds of books. I would suggest this book if you want to read it and it’s not hard to read at all.

(less)

like · see review

Feb 22, 2012 Jade rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book! It had action, some romance with two characters Nick and Mary. It had some scary parts, and a good ending It kind of bothered me how Nick didn't get to were he was going and how they didn't give much of Allie's ending. My favorite part when Mary was so excited to see Nick she kisses him. It had a good beginning when Nick and Allie cross into "Ever Lost" They face many troubles with other spirits called "after lights" When they meet Mary Hightower living in the dead twin towers,...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Where Would You Rather Be?	5	16	Apr 02, 2013 04:29am
Everlost Roleplay: Reviews on Everlost	1	1	Nov 21, 2012 10:41am
Does anyone like mary	18	47	Nov 10, 2012 12:58pm
Favorite Character?	18	65	Sep 23, 2012 01:17pm
The Mcgill	14	87	Sep 23, 2012 01:13pm
Skinjacker Trilogy : Everlost {#1}	1	2	Aug 23, 2012 11:32am
Second book series please!	2	48	Apr 29, 2012 06:25am

combine
Other Editions (25)

More editions...

Genres

Young Adult

394 users

Fantasy

393 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

127 users

Paranormal > Ghosts

70 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

64 users

Adventure

47 users

Young Adult > Teen

46 users

Science Fiction

39 users

Death

30 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

26 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Neal Shusterman

Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movi...more Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.

In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.

As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.

Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.

Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”

Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.

Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.

Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."

And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.

Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!(less)

More about Neal Shusterman...

Books by Neal Shusterman

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Everlost

13 trivia questions
3 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Everlost

“Your hair looks funny," Lief said, as soon as the Ugloids left. "It stands straight up!"
No," said Nick, intensely irritated, "It's hanging straight down."
Lief just gave him an upside-down shrug. "Up is down in China and you're part-Chinese.” — 39 people liked it

“And next to Allie, the screamer, once more reminded of his job, began to wail in Allie's ear. Reflexively Allie clapped her hand over his mouth. "That," she said, "is totally uncalled for. Don't do that again. Ever." The screamer looked at her with worried eyes. "Are we clear on this subject?" said Allie. The screamer nodded and she removed her hand.
"Can I scream a little?" he asked.
"No," said Allie. "Your screaming days are over."
"Darn." And he was quiet thereafter.” — 26 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Everlost
avg rating	preview: Everlost Goodreads rating: 3.92 (12226 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/688191.Everlost?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344390770l/688191.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/688191.Everlost?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Everlost by Neal Shusterman[/url]

Everlost (Skinjacker #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website