Evermore by Alyson Noel

I'm a little sick of the young adult novels coming out where the plot includes a boyfriend who's allowed to lie (amongst other creepy actions) to his girlfriend to protect her or hide a secret of his own.  Like a certain vampire who rates high on the abusive boyfriend scale the main man in this one disturbs me and sets off some alarm bells as well.  Which is why it is with great shame that I actually have to admit I was pretty engrossed in this book and found it entertaining.  And it's the first in the series, so I'm guaranteed more books to read in sequence.

Ever hasn't been the same since a car accident that killed all of her family except for her.  It merely changed her into someone who can see auras and hear people's thoughts, and oh yeah, communicate with her dead sister who likes to come around every day.  It's made her go into her own little shell which is made up of a hooded sweatshirt and ipod to drown out the thoughts of those around her.  But when Damen comes around things change.  The voices aren't so loud and he's attracted to her, although he has an odd way of showing it and is incredibly mysterious.

So let's talk about the characters since they were probably the weakest part of this whole book.  I've already mentioned Damen and his habit of lying to Ever for her own good.  Nevermind the fact that it's entirely creepy and controlling.  Apparently he is handsome, rich, and has tons of talents in other areas so it more than makes up for it.  But I can tell you right now I don't care if he looked like Brad Pitt, I would be entirely uninterested myself.  Ever is a little better, she has a tragic story and her way of coping seems real.  However, her life of luxury is a little unbelievable.  Why is it the girls always have to be beautiful and rich in these things?  I did like her little sister although she wasn't used very effectively.  Mostly she bounced around commenting on Ever's clothes.  And I didn't really feel anything for either of her friends as they were just there to comment on her love life.  Her aunt Sabine, who is just the token adult in the book, actually had a lot more promise of being an interesting character than either of her friends.  And as a side note I couldn't help but noticing that almost every character in this book had a very uncommon name, which struck me as slightly unrealistic.

Somehow the plot drew me in despite my not liking the love connection.  I liked the concept of the secrets around Damen and hope to learn more about them in future books.  And as I said before, I liked the way Ever copes with her new-found abilities as it seems realistic.  The writing is pretty tame too since it is for a young adult audience.  Just some kissing and that's about it.  I can't even recall any cussing in this book, although there is some violence and battle towards the end.  I do have to point out that in this book the meaning of flowers are discussed, and as much as I searched the Internet, I couldn't find the same meaning for a white rose as what the author says it is in this book.  In fact, it seems to be the opposite.  But I did like the concept of the dark red tulips and it was accurate according to an Internet search.  Although there isn't really any setup for the next book as far as bad guys, plot struggle, etc. (the antagonist is taken care of pretty quickly and easily in this book) I'm still interested in reading it because maybe we'll unravel a little more of Damen's mystery.

Not a fantastic series but still pretty entertaining.  I'm hoping as I read the next few books the characters will improve.

Evermore
Copyright 2009
301 pages