Everlost by Neal Shusterman is a meaningful fantasy read, symbolic of life and death. In Everlost, two teens by the names of Nick and Allie are involved in a mutual fatal vehicle accident in their home state of New York, where they both pass away. When they pass, they are sent through a tunnel to the realm of Everlost. Everlost is a place where dead people go when they die to come back to life in a “new world”. It is a place between life and death. The spirits in Everlost are referred to as “afterlights”. In Everlost, anything that is loved enough by a person or people is passed through into this realm, where the afterlights can retrieve and use them. Anything that has not passed through cannot be touched by these beings. The living world is still actively going on, and the spirits can see this, but they often do not intervene as it is uncomfortable. They can feel everyone’s hearts beating and their internal parts moving about, as they pass through them because they are nonexistent shadows to living people. They cannot touch or use anything that has not crossed into Everlost from the living world. The spirits stay the same age and stay in the same clothing that they had and were when they died and passed into Everlost. In Everlost, afterlights can be up to hundreds to centuries old, but never age. These spirits don’t need to sleep or eat. Following Allie and Nick’s journey in this foreign place, they meet Lief, who is a mentor and guide throughout their journey, Mary Hightower, the McGill monster, and the altar boys with Johnnie-O. Allie and Nick first meet Lief, a “kid” that is hundreds of years old. Together, Allie, Nick, and Lief venture to New York, where they meet Mary Hightower. Mary has a “kingdom” in the Twin Towers, which have crossed to Everlost. The journey of the three continue on after they leave New York. Lief and Nick get captured by the “haunter”, an evil spirit who tricks his victims, and Allie has to make it a mission to save them. At the end of the book, the teens find out that afterlights are given a coin when they arrive in Everlost. They can use this coin to travel back to the living world, even though they are essentially pronounced dead. With this information, the teens find out that Mary has been taking the coins of the residents in her towers, forcing them to live eternities in Everlost. The last chapter describes Mary and a young girl, and Mary manipulates the young girl into giving Mary her coin, stating that Nick will come after the girl if she does not. Mary is attempting to rebuild her kingdom, without her secrets coming out. To me, this was a more intriguing read than I anticipated. I am really into life after death and religion, so this was a good read for me. Although a story about the afterlife with many fictional features, I feel more connected about the concept of life and death. I often wonder where we go when we die. Will we go to a place like Everlost? Is there a place where one can get stuck between life and death? To be stuck in a place like Everlost would make me feel miserable and lost. I would want to be reincarnated, not to be forced to watch the world of the living move on. This book made me question life and death more than I was before. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have now. Although the afterlights could leave, most were manipulated under Mary’s supervision: for me, this begs the thought, imagine being manipulated throughout life and your essential “death”? A lot of elderly are put to a peaceful death, but imagine then being stuck in a place like Everlost for eternity or however many years? I liked the sort of sinister theme that Neal Shusterman delicately weaves into the background of his writing. The world of Everlost is so foreign, to the point where it made me feel spine-chilled. The concept of life and death is a broad concept, with many books and whole religions based on it. Although Everlost is a small part of this grand concept, it is still an exhilarating and quick read that will make you question the basis of your life. To any future readers, come into reading this book with an open mind. Don’t close the book because of the fictional, sort of irrational concepts. The more you read, the more you may question.
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