Everlost (Skinjacker #1)

After a head-on car crash, Nick and Allie are de-railed on their way to the Hereafter into a netherworld called the Everlost. Everlost is where dead children and teens wind up if they somehow dont make it to their final destination. It is by no means safe there are rumors of horrible monsters and the danger of stepping onto living ground which can suck an Afterlighter (thats what the spirits are called) under. No one knows exactly what happens to those who sink do they just keeping going until they reach the center of the Earth? Are they stuck there for all eternity, surrounded by dirt or molten lava at the Earths core?

To keep safe, you must stick to dead spots, or spots where someone had died or a large catastrophe had taken place. Nick, Allie, and Lief (a young child who had been stuck in the Everlost for quite a long time (long enough to forget his name), soon find a very large dead spot that seems safe: The Twin Towers in New York City.

Mary Hightower, called by some Mary, Queen of the Snots, had taken up residence there and presided over all of the children who came like a true Queen Mother. But were her intentions good&or something else entirely? Nick, infatuated with Mary, is quick to fall into the routine of things, but Allie is determined not to fall into the rut that she sees all the other children in as they do the same things and play the same games every day.

Mary wishes to be rid of Allie, considering her a bad influence on her flock. Soon, someone has hinted to Allie that theres a kid in Everlost who has learned the power of reaching into the living world. Allie talks Lief and Nick into going with her to see the Haunter.

The Haunter, however, isnt exactly a benevolent spirit. He traps Nick and Lief in pickle barrels and Allie herself barely escapes. When she goes back to Mary to ask for help in rescuing Nick and Lief, Mary refuses. So Allie takes things into her own hands and finds a group of bullies that had terrorized her on the way to New York.

Johnnie-O agrees to help, even though he doesnt like girls, based on the promise of the real food that theyll be able to plunder from the Haunter. But when they get back, they discover that the infamous McGill, the one true monster of Everlost, has been there before them. He trapped the Haunter in one of his own pickle barrels and took the others with him.

Now Allie is again on her own, since no one else will dare go against the McGill. She learns that she has the ability to skinjack, or take brief possession of living souls. Using this skill, she makes her way onto the ship that the McGill and his crew call home. After that, it is a battle of wills.

The resolution of the book is a surprising one and Im definitely not going to give any of it away. Theres too much for you to discover on your own.

I found Everlost to be an intriguing and interesting book that fully engrosses the reader. When you put it down, youll have to give yourself a minute to come back to the real world. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up and anyone that wants to spark their imagination.