Nevermore

Description: Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due-so unfair-on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he'd rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can't help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
 Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
 As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
His life depends on it. -Amazon

Author: Kelly Creagh
Release date: August 31, 2011
Publisher: Atheneum Books
Pages: 560
Source: My personal copy
Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser Sentence(s): 'He glared up at her past the brim of his hat and, with each hand, grabbed both blades by the hilt. He yanked them from his chest in one clean motion. Gray ash poured out from the would-be wounds like sand. Then the opening closed over, and all traces of damage vanished into the blackness of his clothes.'

My thoughts: I do not even know where to begin on this one. I liked it, but sometimes it was very slow. I kept going back and forth between a 3 star rating and a 4 star rating. I normally do not do halves, but I decided I am going to rate this one 3.5 stars. I really like how the author played on Edgar Allan Poe and his works. I am a fan of Poe's, so it was interesting to see how she made a story from his stories. It was a little slow at times. I kept finding myself having to re-read pages, because my mind had started to wonder. But the creativity of the story was good and well thought out.
I really liked Varen, but not so much Isobel. I liked her friend Gwen much more. I thought Isobel was lacking a little personality, but at least she wasn't the ditsy cheerleader. The story was very well written. Everything came together really nicely at the end. Except that sad part....I am not happy about that sad part. That sad part is what's going to make me buy the 2nd book in this series. I cannot be left hanging. I really, really want to see what happens to Varen. 
If you like Edgar Allan Poe and a little high school paranormal drama, then I would say read this book. There is a little romance in this read, but mostly the author sticks to telling the story.

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