Nevermore

I've mentioned before that I'm a teacher of English.  So, obviously I was drawn to a book that tied into the classic and twisted tales of Edgar Allan Poe.  Nevermore (watch a fan-made trailer here) by Kelly Creagh did not disappoint me in my quest to find for a creepy read with a Poe twist.

In Nevermore, Isobel Lanley has the perfect life: she is the star flyer on the cheerleading squad; she has a boyfriend that makes all her friends jealous.  But, her only problem seems to be the project she must do in her English class.  Her teacher assigned partners and topics for the project, and Isobel gets partnered with the school's lead goth, Varen Nethers, and assigned the topic of Edgar Allan Poe.  From the start, Varen makes it clear that he has no intention of working with Isobel.  However, Isobel begins to feel strangely drawn to Varen and his dark world.

As time goes on, Isobel begins withdrawing from her perfect life to spend time with Varen.  Simultaneously, she begins having very frightening and realistic dreams.   These dreams seem to be tied to the sketch pad where Varen shares his innermost thoughts.  As it turns out, this sketchpad serves as a link between the real world and the frightening dream world of Edgar Allan Poe.  When Varen sketched Isobel's name into the pad, she too was linked to this terrifying world of morgues, death, and horrifying characters.  Isobel must desperately try to save herself and Varen from this world, but as you might expect it is not easy to escape the dream world.

I really like how Creagh wove aspects of Poe's life into the book.  For example, Varen was darkly attractive and had a few ladies from which to choose, just like Poe.  Also, Varren's step-dad is just like John Allan, foster father of Poe.  Probably my favorite tie-in was Reynolds.  Creagh used this character to explain the legend of the Poe Toaster.  I love this! 

The sequel to Nevermore, Enshadowed, is set for release on January 24, 2012.  While I've not had the priviledge of reading this one, I anticipate that the story will continue with Isobel's search for Reynolds and may take readers to Baltimore.  Fans of Poe will remember that Baltimore is steeped in Poe history and is his final resting place.  I think this will be a very exciting adventure. 

As a sidenote, Creagh's website is beautiful.  You should totally visit it.  It's beauty is mesmerizing and it's superbly informative also.  Also, I would love an ARC of Enshadowed.  And there you have it; I am not too proud to beg!