Nevermore series by Kelly Creagh (Group Read October 2011)

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Moving this to the group read folder for October.

[Carina]

I just requested this from the library. I hope they have it ready for me in time for the October Group read =)

[Cambria]

YAY! I have this on my nightstand right now!!!! Now I have an excuse to pick it up. LOL

[Angie]

I may join in on this one. It shows up as a recommendation from GR for me, so why not? :)

[Samantha]

On hold from library, hopefully I'll get it in time.

[Gwennie]

I'm excited for this one! I'll have to grab it in ebook.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Samantha, if you get to a point where it looks the library is not going to come through for you, go ahead and message me and I'll see if I can help you out with a copy.

[Samantha]

Thanks, will do.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

It's October, so let the discussions begin!

I'm not great with making formal discussion questions, so unless someone really wants to come up with some questions and list them here, we can just talk about the book as people read it.

Since this topic will be recycled back into the Urban Fantasy folder at the end of the month and will be used as a topic for the entire series, please use spoiler tags when talking about any big details (death, major revelations, etc.)

I have read this book, but since I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, I plan on re-reading sometime over the next week or two before jumping in to the discussion.

[Isamlq]

It's been a while since I read this...I'm going to reread so I can join in.

[Gwennie]

I can't wait to read this one. I've been eyeing it for a while and I think it's already on my Kindle.

I'm not good at discussion questions either, plus the hard thing with discussion questions is they're best if it's for a group reread because you know the types of questions to ask and they won't be big spoilers.

[Carina]

I'll be starting this one mid next week.

[Angie]

I'll probably start this one on Monday! I just want to finish my current book first.

[Carrie (Care)]

I read this one a while ago and loved it. It was definitely on the strange side sometimes, but I really liked that.

[[deleted user]]

Ive just started it and im about 80 - 90 pages into it, and i so far LOVE it!

[Carina]

So good to hear the book is good so early into it!

[Cambria]

i just finished this. I really liked it. It was a lot different than I expected it to be. i will say that as I was reading and got about halfway or a little more in I kind of got antsy for some answers... to know what was going on.
I did enjoy it though and if the ending is anyway to go another one should be on its way sometime!

[Cambria]

Oh! I just saw the cover for Enshadowed at the top. I Love it!! Its fantastic. And it is nice to see where the outcast is the guy and he gets a girl. ;)

[Angie]

I'm about half way in now, and I'm really starting to enjoy it. I always struggle getting into 3rd person narratives, but the story is starting to pick up, so I'm not slowed down by it anymore. I really want to know what the heck this weirdness occurring is!

I really had to smile when it was mentioned that my two all-time favorite movies were on Varen's DVD shelf. :D

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

How are you feeling about the Poe connections? I just started re-reading this, and I can't remember what my theories were the first time around, so I'm going to have to pay more attention this time.

[Angie]

I honestly haven't thought about it much. It took me awhile to just get into the story and "find my stride," since for whatever reason my brain hates processing 3rd person. Now that it's flowing better, I'll probably start to form some ideas.

[Shera (Book Whispers)]

My copy is on its way, just ordered it on Sat from overstock so it should be here by the end of the week. *crossing fingers*

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

How is overstock for books? I never thought of looking there.

[[deleted user]]

Ok, i finished the book and i LOVED it! Its just my kind of book, and Varen is just my kind of guy!
I do have to say that it SUCKS that they moved Enshadowed to august 2012!!!

[Angie]

I just finished, and I liked it overall, but I really did not like the dreamworld scenes. It seemed like the author was trying too hard. I'll definitely read the next book though, because I must know what happens to Varen!

[Samantha]

Mine is in transit, yay!

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I completely agree Angie about the dreamworld scenes.

I have a question to those of you who have finished. Did Poe (view spoiler)[originally create the dreamworld, or did he just find it in his storywriting? Also, there's one scene where Pinfeathers says that Varen is one of them, but later, it was said (maybe Reynolds said?) that the only reason Varen and Isobel fell into the dreamworld was because Varen wrote it? But Reynolds was a liar...so is Varen a Noc, or did he just happen to bring the Nocs to life with his writing? (hide spoiler)]

Whew, that was a lot to type but I didn't want to spoil anything.

[Gwennie]

Hmmm, that's a good question Stacia. I think that it's like this, Poe (view spoiler)[didn't create the dreamworld. I took it like it's a very evil version of Neverending Story's Fantasia. Like, many different people have added to the dreamworld through their dark writings and angry existance. Poe was just one of them... but I could totally be wrong. And as far as Varen, he's not a Noc himself. But the way the dreamworld exists as it is now is through his own writing. And because it's through his writing they are all a piece of him because he created them. So Pinfeather is a piece of Varen because you put a piece of yourself in everything you create (hide spoiler)]. At least that's how I read it.

I just finished, like I literally just set it down. I struggled in the beginning, I really thought I wasn't going to like it. But about 40% in I got really into Varen and Izo at least. I actually struggled with the story through the whole thing, but really got excited any time Varen and Isobel were together. It ended up around a 4 star for me, but because I really really loved Varen.

I'm so not happy about (view spoiler)[the end, and how I knew Reynods was lying to her and she was leaving Varen behind. I get that it's a series, and normally cliffhangers don't bother me, but this one left me really unsatisfied and a little angry (hide spoiler)].

August 2012 is too far away.

[Samantha]

I'm about half-way through. It's pretty quick reading and although Isobel is such a drama queen I'm still interested in finding out just what's afoot.

[Gwennie]

She was such a drama queen, lol.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Not really about this book, but I notice it a lot in books in general and reading this one made me think of it too.

I get tired of the cheerleaders and jocks always being the popular kids in books. It wasn't like that at my high school at all. Usually it was the kids with the most confidence (yes, I'm outdated and use swagger a lot, but oh well...).

[Gwennie]

Those aspects of it kind of reminded me of a darker version of Ghost and the Goth. Not the ghost part, but the cheerleader, with all the popular friends, falling for the weird Goth kid part.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I was wondering if there were any similarities between the two, even though it did look like Ghost was lighter in tone.

I actually felt like the dreamworld and strange characters in this book reminded me of a darker version of . I liked HGD a little bit better though, even if the love story was a bit forced.

[Carina]

I'm slowly(but surely) making my way though this book. Read 3 more chapters last night. I'm interested but not hooked yet. I know alot of you didn't get fully invested until near the half way point so I'm not judging much yet.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I think the second half of the book is unlike the first half, and I'm not sure if that means it was better or worse. It definitely feels like the first half is one book (realistic) and the second half is another (dark paranormal).

The first time I read the book I gave it a 4 (I think I wanted to like it as much as everyone else seemed to, so I rated up), but the second time I wasn't as invested (there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary detail descriptions, to the point of excessiveness), so I knocked it down to a 3.

[Gwennie]

I think I'll eventually take it down one star. It was odd for me because I didn't enjoy the first 30% (Isobel drove me nuts), then I loved the middle when they started (view spoiler)[to realize they liked each other, and Varen showed more vulnerability (hide spoiler)], and then the last 30% was alot of skimming because I thought the whole dreamworld parts was a little overdone.

I may have said this before, sometimes I'm an accidental repeater... but the reason I typed it again was I tended to like the more realistic part of the book and less of the paranormal.

And Ghost and the Goth is definitely lighter. It's more of a paranormal comedy. I definitely liked it more then this one.

[Carina]

From the few chapters I've read I can already tell there is a ton of descriptions that will drive me mad, but since I'm reading it at a slow pace, I'm trying to keep my critisism to a minimum...for now, lol

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Wendy F wrote: "I may have said this before, sometimes I'm an accidental repeater..."

I'm the queen of repetitiveness. I have the habit of not remembering which group I said what in, so I'll say the same thing several times in the same group, thinking I hadn't said it before.

A lot of people (myself included) were not as fond of the dreamworld sequences. I skimmed a bit myself.

Carina, you might like it. I did like the book and gave it a decent rating the first time I read it, but realized after the fact that I might have let hype skew me a little. So many people love the book though, and while I liked it, I don't think I "really" liked it.

The book was an interesting setup though, so I am definitely interested in seeing where book 2 is going to go, especially (view spoiler)[how Isabelle is going to get Varen back (hide spoiler)].

[[deleted user]]

I read this book a few months ago, probably when it first came out. I remember thinking oh great it's gonna be another "cheerleader falling for the bad guy" book. But I was wrong. Being a Poe fan, I loved that this book will introduce the younger generation with his work.

I may have to read this again to refresh my memory and take part in this duscussion

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Poe was a fun study in school, I have to admit. I thought I might have to brush up on my Poe before reading the book, but fortunately, it wasn't hard to follow.

[Gwennie]

I'm not familiar with Poe at all, other then Telltale Heart. Are the facts in the book correct? Like did he really (view spoiler)[die under such suspicious means (hide spoiler)]?

[Hillary]

Wendy, the short answer to that is yes.
A bit longer answer:
(view spoiler)[No one really knows what happened to him. He was found at a public house taken to the hospital and he was in and out of consciousness before he finally died a few days later. (hide spoiler)]

It really is fascinating. Look into it sometime. The theories and urban legends that spawn from it can be amusing.

I started learning about Poe when I was in the 8th grade. His work is interesting as well as the individual.

I liked Nevermore. It's been 7 months since I read it but haven't had the chance to reread it. I liked Varen. Fun book.

[[deleted user]]

Wendy, (view spoiler)[ He did die of unusual circumstances, although some doctors say it was alcohol poisoning. I did google it a little and it was said that he kept saying the name Reynolds. (hide spoiler)]

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I didn't know that about (view spoiler)[Reynolds! Now it makes his role in the books even more interesting. I wonder if this Reynolds person really killed Poe. (hide spoiler)]

[Gwennie]

Wow! I am going to look that up later today. I have to say that makes the whole thing so much better. It was still too wordy, but now the concept is so much more interesting.

I can't wait to go home and google the crap out of Poe, haha.

It also makes the final school project more interesting too.

[[deleted user]]

I know right! It adds this whole new "theory" to the story.

[Cambria]

Wendy F wrote: "Hmmm, that's a good question Stacia. I think that it's like this, Poe [spoilers removed]. At least that's how I read it.

I just finished, like I literally just set it down. I struggled in the..."

you pretty much summed up how I feel too. And I thought the way you interpreted the book makes a lot of sense, with Varen and Pinfeathers... that's one of things I didn't like about this book, I felt like I never quite knew what was going on. I kept waiting for answers- answers especially from Varen and they never really came. Yeah, Reynolds explained some stuff... and Izo had to figure some out on her own.. i just wish there had been a little more information throughout the book for the reader.
And yeah, the ending left me mad too. Clearly reynolds was lying and Izo just bought it....

[Cambria]

Hillary wrote: "Wendy, the short answer to that is yes.
A bit longer answer:
[spoilers removed]

It really is fascinating. Look into it sometime. The theories and urban legends that spawn from it can be amusing...."

WoW!!! Thats crazy! Brings whole new life to the book. She should have put that in the book at the end or something as a "true fact"

[Steph]

I really loved this book. We extensively studied Poe when I was in high school since I'm in Maryland. When I finished this book it was Holloween last year. I had sent Kelly a FB message telling her how much I enjoyed her book (I'm a sucker for pretty prose and descriptions) and she messages me back within an hour telling me she was going to be downtown Baltimore at Poe's house for a signing. She seems so cool. I wasn't able to go (I'd just had a baby), but I hope she's there this year! Ironically, the second book comes out in January, around Poe's birthday.
(view spoiler)[It's also true that every year a man with the scarf visits his grave. I've never gone to see, but people wait just to witness it. Till this day noone knows who he is! (hide spoiler)]