Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman - Review

I recently finished reading The Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

The Skinjacker Trilogy is set in Everlost, an in-between world where kids who have died go when they haven't yet reached the "light." The main characters are Nick and Allie who find themselves in Everlost after an ill-fated car accident.

Everlost: In the first book, Allie and Nick are thrown into Everlost after knocking into each other on the way to the light. Once in Everlost, they meet an array of characters, ranging from Mary, the self-imposed Queen of Everlost, to the McGill, monster of Everlost, and the Haunter, whom you'd better please if you don't want to be locked in a pickle barrel for all of eternity.

I really enjoyed the first book of this series, but it was just a kicker for the other two books. After reading Everwild and Everfound, I realized that Everlost was just setting up the basic ground work for the rest of the series. That being said, the other two books are awesome!!!

*If you have not yet read the series, and do not wish for anything to be spoiled for you, stop reading now!*

Everwild: The fate of the children of Everlost hangs in the balance between Mary Hightower and Nick, who both have very different ideas of the purpose of Everlost. Nick believes that each and every afterlight should know that they have a pathway to the light if they are ready to take it, however Mary believes that the children don't need to know about the path and that they should make their eternal home in Everlost. Meanwhile, Allie and Mikey travel in search of Allie's parents. Along the way, they meet other skinjackers and Allie learns from them things that will change her perspective on Everlost and her fate.

*Major spoilers!!!* There is a moment in Everwild where I wanted to throw the book across the room! It was one of those moments that remind me why I love reading so much, and it was the moment I realized why Neal Shusterman is such a valued author. Allie is still alive. About halfway through the book, it is revealed that skinjackers are actually still alive, they are just in comas, which is why they have the ability to skinjack. Neal Shusterman built up to this revelation so well, I honestly did not see it coming and it was a phenomenal moment in the book.

Everfound: As the children of Everlost wait for Mary's reawakening, her skinjackers continuously reap souls so that Mary will have more followers upon her return. When a tragic twist of fate awakens Mary too soon, it is quickly revealed what her true intentions for Everlost are. As a war wages with Allie, and her band of misfit characters, versus Mary, and her band of loyal followers, who will win as all life on Earth hangs in the balance?

I found Everfound to be a bit of a slower read compared to Everwild because all of the characters had to come back together. However, Neal Shusterman did this seamlessly, making each twist and turn hold new surprises. I found a few things in this last book a little disturbing however, such as when they trapped Jill in the prize pig. I don't know why, but that didn't set well with me. However, Jix frees her before the book ends, so that made me feel better about it. One thing I loved in this book was how Mary finally went down. She sunk herself into the earth in a locked fridge! That was an awesome ending! If she had gone into the light or been extinguished by the scar wraith, that would have been too predictable. But the fact that she sunk to the center of the earth, in a locked fridge, and she did it to herself rather than have Allie do it was amazing!!!

I give these books and Neal Shusterman a 10/10, and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.