I was growing tired of reading about everyone’s problems. It got to the point where book after book I reviewed were about people with very deep issues. I needed a break from these real life stories, so I went through my stack of October releases and pulled out a very special book from the pile, “Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow” by Jessica Townsend.
I flipped to the first page where the publisher wrote a special note about this publication. In the letter to the reader, she pens that when she received this title, it was right after the election. Everywhere she went, she could not escape the political conversations that took over our popular culture. Frankly, she was exhausted of it.
This book hit her desk and something magical happened. It provided her with a world to which she could escape to. “And what a delicious escape it was,” she said.
After reading her words, I hoped it would provide me with that same escape as I turned the pages of Townsend’s book. She wasn’t lying.
Thoughts
First of all, I cannot wait until the next book. I hate that I ever had to put this story down or that this story came to an end.
I keep this book out on my console table. Every single time I look at the cover, I think of how this was such a wonderful story. I remember how it made me feel…wonderful.
Out of all of the amazing books I read this year, this book quickly went to the top as my favorite read of the year. It is #1 on my list this year, and I read a lot this year. This tale marks #49 for me in 2017. [You can see all of the books I read this year in the PW book club.]
Throughout the book, I tried to guess the ending. I thought maybe I had everything figured out until the last 30 pages. In the end, I discovered I really had no idea what was so special about Morrigan Crow.
Most noteworthy, Townsend kept that secret until the end. As a result of the way she ended the book, I went a little crazy when I realized there is currently no second book.
I felt like I needed that next book, just like I needed all seven books of Harry Potter just to see how it would all end. All throughout the book I wondered if Morrigan was really a cursed child. Is she the girl that everyone told her she was? Or is there something special about her? What is her knack?
Separation Anxiety
This story will make you despise each time you have to put the book down because the world is still revolving. You will cringe each time you have to step out of Nevermoor and back into our universe. As a result of turning that last page, you will feel a slight madness, because the most marvelous story in our world has momentarily come to an end.
You will feel sad and feel a slight withdrawal. Hence, you will need to go cold turkey from one of the best highs you’ve ever had. This is probably something only bibliophiles go through each time they must walk away from an incredible story.
Do you understand now why this book became my favorite read of the year? I felt all of those emotions.
I was in a space where I felt safe from other people’s problems. Nor did I have to hear about the apocalypse day in and day out. I could live in Nevermoor with Morrigan and Jupiter North like an illegal alien hiding away in a magical hotel with a ginormous cat that can talk, a vampire dwarf (or was it dwarf vampire?), an opera singer, and an adventurer. I could run around with Morrigan and her dragon riding friend as they prepared for their trials.
To have it all come to a crashing end…I need more.
Seems like the main problem for me right now is that the book is not released yet. It comes out on Halloween (or Hallowmas) 2017. That means I have to wait for any follow up book for God knows how long. So now I must continue my search for the next great read until Townsend’s next book. I think for 2017, it will be very hard to match Nevermoor.
Similarities
Nevermoor is similar to Harry Potter in many ways. First of all, this is not a story about witchcraft. Magic? Yes, but rather in a special magical place we, as children, wish to escape to when the world becomes difficult.
When you feel alone and like no one cares about you or loves you, this book allows you to see the world through a different microscope. Rather than believing you have no one who believes in you, you find the exact opposite. There are people across this universe who are reaching out to you to let you know that you are not alone. They are there trying to help us.
When we are trying to discover who we are in the grand scheme of things, sometimes it is not our talents (or knacks) we should be so focused upon. Maybe we should be focused on our gifts and becoming the person we know we are inside.
That is the whole purpose of books like Harry Potter and Nevermoor. They teach us that we are never alone, no matter how scary things get.
This book is set to be released on October 31, 2017. Pre-order it immediately. You will not regret diving into this book.
[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links, I may receive a commission.]
