Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
…time for you has become snagged on a splinter, forming a closed-circuited potentiality called a Neverworld Wake.
Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl is a YA science-fiction novel that incorporates the idea of a time loop to tell the story. If this doesn’t sound like something you would be into…probably should avoid this one. If however, you are like me, and live for this type of story, definitely pick it up!
This story follows our main girl, Beatrice ‘Bea’ Hartley, as she goes to her estranged friend Whitley’s seaside mansion, Wincroft, to try to get answers regarding the mysterious death of her boyfriend, Jim. Basically, Bea and Whitley were part of a super tight friend group at their private school, Darrow, which was comprised of them, Jim, Kipling, Cannon and Martha. After Jim’s death, ruled a suicide (which Bea never believed), Bea separated herself from the rest of the group as she struggled to overcome her grief.
Once she arrives at Wincroft for their ill-fated reunion, the group (all in attendance, of course) pretty much accepts her back with good grace, as friends tend to do and they whisk her out for a night of clubbing. As we all know, nights out at the club can end dramatically and this one definitely did.
Once they finally drag themselves back to the mansion shit starts to get real freaky, real quick. A knock at the door. A mysterious creepy old dude. The rules of the Neverworld Wake are explained to them and it’s off to the races. Bea never gives up her quest to discover what really happened to Jim and that is where the rest of the narrative takes us. The group investigating and uncovering what truly happened to Jim. Secrets and deceptions are revealed as we race towards the finale.
Guys, I loved this book. I loved the mystery. I loved the sci-fi elements – anything relating to the concept of time I am down for. I loved the dynamics among the friends. I loved the characters. This group of kids were the golden children of their school. They were all so smart and ambitious. I got real Slytherin vibes from this. If you are a Slytherin and are looking for book recs, I definitely think this would qualify.
This is my second Marisha Pessl book. I love her and will basically read anything she writes. Anything. Got one of her discarded grocery lists? I’ll read that.
Initial Reaction: We are all anthologies. We are each thousands of pages long, filled with fairy tales and poetry, mysteries and tragedy, forgotten stories in the back no one will read.
I loved this. Full review to come…stay tuned!