Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Title: Nevermore [Goodreads][Amazon]
Publisher: Atheneum
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 31, 2010
In My Opinion: Worth a try!
One Line: A nice try on combining paranormal with contemporary, but it plays out more as contemporary drama than anything else.

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

If you walk into this thinking it’ll be another paranormal book with some romance and darkness in it, you’ll be sadly mistaken. Sure there are some weird things that happen and you can kind of get the mystery and paranormal aspect that is supposed to be behind it all, but this whole book played out like a typical high school/contemporary novel to me. Not to say that was a bad thing because I really enjoyed the relationship between Isobel and Varen. It’s your typical popular girl and outcast guy falls for each other and upsets the precious balance of high school nature kind of story. I was just really disappointed in how little of the paranormal was actually in this book.

You get bits and pieces of the realm of Poe and what’s really plaguing Varen here and there, parts that are supposed to spook you or have you on edge, I suppose. But for the most part, you’re reading about how Isobel slowly falls for Varen, how her boyfriend definitely doesn’t like that, and how her high school life slowly crumbles before her eyes. Varen is a kind of a mystery throughout the book and I was upset I didn’t see enough of him. By the end, you’re still kind of left wondering what’s going on with him and Kelly doesn’t really elaborate on much details. The whole “world of Poe” and “creepy dreams” didn’t really do anything for me and added little to the story, in my opinion. I was often left wondering where exactly Kelly was trying to go with this. The characters are pretty interesting and played key parts in the unraveling of Isobel’s life. I especially loved Gwen, Isobel’s newfound friend and she definitely added lightness and humor to the story.

I don’t know if I’ll be in any kind of rush to read the next books in the series, especially because they’re SO long, but I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually.