The Skinjacker Trilogy is a Weird Fun Adventure About the Afterlife

Note: This review was previously published on my previous blog on September 15, 2013.

Title: The Skinjacker Trilogy: Everlost, Everwild, Everfound
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, YA
 
Summary

A white Toyota slams into a black Mercedes, and just like that, Nick and Allie are dead.  But something happens on their way to the light.  Their souls collide, and they spin into Everlost, a parallel dimension hovering on the border between life and death.  Here, child ghosts wander through deadspots--destroyed places that have "crossed over" into Everlost--and Skinjackers possess humans to remember what it felt like to be alive.

To Mary Hightower, Everlost is the only eternal place, more real than the living world.  It is her duty to gather and nurture new souls like Allie and Nick.  But Allie doesn't trust Mary.  Plunging headfirst into a world of monsters and secrets, Allie and Nick soon learn that all is not what it seems and sometimes those souls with the best intentions may be the ones to destroy the world.
 
Review

Although Everlost exists parallel to the living world, it might as well be its own realm.  Like any well-built fantasy, the protagonists must learn the rules of their new world, develop their powers, and confront villains who wish to dominate and destroy. Since I write epic fantasy, this is all in my wheelhouse and I have to say I found it greatly amusing. Though the point of view was third person omniscient, the author mostly kept inside the character's head, drifting away only to offer key bits of explanation to the audience. This allowed the book to run at a fast pace.

I, personally, judge an author by the quality of their villains, and Mr. Shusterman writes them just the way I like: full of empathy.  The antagonists may do horrible things, but they never lose their humanity.  In the end, they're tragic figures, presented with the choice of changing or clinging to what they think they desire.  Some crossover to become heroes, while others lose themselves forever.

Allie and Nick both find love--but surprisingly not with each other.  Their separate romantic arcs illustrate the power and limitations of love and its ability to change people.  I'm picky with my love stories, but these two hit all my favorite buttons.  The romance strengthened the characters rather than weakened them and did not take away from the plot.  The emphasis was on emotional (and dare I say spiritual) connection rather than physical.  A bittersweet edge ran through the romance, for as pure as the love might be, when your characters are ghosts, you know happily ever after is out.

The Skinjacker Trilogy hits all my preferences right on the nose, so how can I help but to recommend it?  It's a weird, fun, and solid adventure series from Neal Shusterman, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.