Everwild is the second volume of the trilogy of the Skinjacker series. Everlost, the title of the first volume, is the world that child spirits inhabit rather than passing through “the tunnel” into “the light.” Everwild is the land to the west and south of the New York/New Jersey area and is unknown territory to “Afterlights,” which is what the child spirits are called. Many of the same characters are back--Mary Hightower, Mikey McGill or “the McGill,” the monster in the last book, Allie the Outcast, Nick, and a few new ones, most notably Milos. Each has his or her own agenda in Everwild—Allie to see her parents again; Mary to collect and “save” as many Afterlights from the tunnel as she can; Nick to thwart Mary and give as many Afterlights a coin so they can make it through the tunnel and achieve peace. Adventures befall each character as they wind their way further into Everwild and learn more about their world and their own circumstances. For example, Allie learns that she is really still alive and that is why she can skinjack, which is inhabiting the body of a “fleshie” or live person. All of this leads to the showdown that takes place between Nick and Mary in the vortex at Graceland in Memphis between this world and theirs. It helps to have read the first book but not absolutely necessary. ( )

A gripping, incredible sequel to Everlost and an extremely worthy middle novel that broadens the scope of Shusterman's afterlife world to epic proportions.

The characters of the first book are scattered now, each group with its own mission. Mary Hightower has become the Sky Witch, scouring Everlost for the souls of children to "save." Nick, immortalized as the Chocolate Ogre, fights against the consuming memory of chocolate in order to oppose everything Mary stands for, hoping to save Afterlights in a very different way. And Allie the Outcast has become a wandering finder, accompanied by Mikey, who was once the monstrous McGill. But Mary's plans grow darker every day, Nick is a leader without much direction, and Allie has some terrible lessons to learn about her bewitching skill of skinjacking.

But for each of these groups, the untamed Everwild is waiting to be explored. There are new characters, some allies, some enemies, most falling into both camps at one time another: the fiery Confederate ecto-ripper Zin, suave skinjacker Milos and his gang, power-hungry would-be-gangster Pugsy Malone.

And of course nearly everyone from Everlost returns, to the point where I felt so happy to be reuniting with them it was like coming back to old friends. Everyone has their own right and wrong, their own goals and motives. And more importantly, character flaws and weaknesses abound as well. They may be trapped between life and death, but these characters are so real. It is so easy to like and hate them, to feel pride and love and loathing at what they do. Shusterman's writing is a perfect mix of "show" and "tell," his dry wit showing through most often in sly allusions to the real world and its connections to Everlost. Some of these allusions, however, as in the previous novel, are downright touching, and the author also has a gift for stating truly emotional comments and scenes in a simple style that makes them all the more meaningful.

The complexity of Everlost itself is not the most impressive thing, however. That's the relationships between the characters. In the end, the denizens of Everlost form a shifting, twisted, beautifully human web of interconnected feelings. For me, the complicated, unorthodox, and stunning bond between Mikey and Allie was the crowning example of this. Rarely have I seen a romance so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

There seems to be a pattern here. In the first novel, the author introduced Everlost and its people in gripping detail, and the ending promised more to come. In this book, the world is expanded, the characters grow monumentally, everything promised is delivered, and yet the ending hints at something even greater to come. I will eagerly await that coming. ( )

So, so amazing. One of the best YA books I've read in a long time. The plot twists are brilliant. I can't believe I have to wait until next summer for the third one to come out!

3.5 stars.

Again, like the first book, I enjoyed the plot, the setting, the story a lot. It is definitely unique, it keeps you wanting to find out more, the pacing is great. It could have been a really fantastic story.

EXCEPT... like I already mentioned, the characters. They are great - at least some of them are - at least they have the potential to be great, anyway. The thing is, they are the very opposite of flat; they are well thought out, they have motives, they have moral dilemmas. Except all of this is kind of relayed to the reader through a very tell-not-show kind of style. Instead of convincing the reader - namely, me - of their personality, most of it is just thrown in the face. It makes them less credible, less interesting, it's just plain annoying. Not to mentioned the fact (thought I have already, and I will again...) that so many characters in the book seem to suddenly be "in love" with other characters; it's so shallow, so unexciting. I simply can't understand or sympathize with their all-of-a-sudden overwhelming love for one another. It is changed too soon and explained poorly (again with the tell rather than show). It makes me annoyed, and then resigned, and eventually just indifferent. Since I'm a very character-driven-stories type of a person, this really overshadowed my overall enjoyment. At least I still think Allie and Mikey are by far the best characterized of the lot (but even they have issues), so at least I have them to comfort myself with.

Anyhow, plot-wise this book is worth it. Definitely. I did have issues with the very last plot-points, which struck me as a little too much. I'll let it pass though; I'm still going to read the last book in this trilogy, just to find out where it's going. I'm curious, and I guess that's always a good thing. ( )

One of my favorite things about this series is that the more info I get, the more everything makes sense. Sometimes, explanations just take away the magic and mystery of it, but not here. It makes such perfect sense that I'm left baffled (in a good way).

I love this world and I love these characters. Allie the Outcast, for all her faults, is still great. As is Mikey. Nick is of course my favorite, closely followed by Zin. Mary honestly gives me chills, and I love it. I love a good villain. I can't wait to read the conclusion. ( )