"Everwild" (Skinjackers, #2) by Neal Shusterman

"Everlost, the limbo land of dead children, is at war. Nick the “Chocolate Ogre” wants to help the children of Everlost reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Mary Hightower, self-proclaimed queen of lost children and dangerous fanatic, is determined to keep Everlost’s children trapped within its limbo for all eternity. Traveling in the memory of the Hindenburg, Mary is spreading her propaganda and attracting Afterlights to her cause at a frightening speed.
Meanwhile, Allie the Outcast travels home to seek out her parents, along with Mikey, who was once the terrifying monster the McGill. Allie is tempted by the seductive thrill of skinjacking the living, until she discovers the shocking truth about skinjackers."-goodreads 

Everwild (along with the first book, Everlost) is a VERY dark book. Along with the darkness comes that the series is one of the more unique ones I've read. That's both due to the story and Shusterman's writing style, which doesn't really bring any other authors to mind for me. Those are the most prominent things about the books that I could think to start this review with.


I enjoyed Everwild more than Everlost. The story just got more interesting. While we learned more about what it really meant to be in Everlost (what it is, how they get there, what a skinjacker truly is) it seemed to be woven into the story more, while in Everlost I felt a lot of it was explaining. I knew that it was necessary, because I wouldn't have understood anything in the first one if not for that, but yes, less explaining. In Everwild, without it seeming irrational or impossible, almost everything we thought we knew about Everlost is either changed, a lot more complicated that you would think, or COMPLETELY different. That's a huge part of the story-- you think you know what's going on, you think you know something and BAM, surprise, you know NOTHING. 


Everwild was shocking. Along with everything you thought you knew being thrown out the window, the way you thought you knew the characters and their personalities was also changing constantly. You delve deeper into the characters. Good and bad, both actions of people and themselves, are ongoing changing themes. At first, a person seems like they're doing the right thing, but then as the story goes on they seem more monstrous. You always have to question. That's another big thing. This is another one of those books that will make you think, and ask yourself questions; like, 'who's right? Mary or Nick? Allie or Milos?' answers to which (for me) were usually neither. A lot of the books are about the morals of Everlost and the real world as well-- is it right to skinjack? Is it right to take things from the living? etc....


Anyway. I really shouldn't say much more, I probably already said some minimal spoilers. If you want a good book, a unique book, or one of those books that's really complicated but very interesting and good, I'd recommend Everlost and Everwild! I look forward to reading the last in the trilogy, Everfound!