Book Review: Everfound by Neal Shusterman

• Genre: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 512 pages 
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
  
• Release Date: (May 3, 2011) 
• Series: Skinjacker Trilogy (Book 3)
• Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Blurb: While Mary lies in a glass coffin aboard a ghost train heading west, her minions are awaiting her re-awakening by bringing lots of new souls into Everlost to serve her. Meanwhile Jackin’ Jill has met Jix, a fur-jacker—a skin jacker who can take over the bodies of animals, most notably jaguars. Jix serves a Mayan god who collects Everlost coins, and has his own agenda. In the concluding volume of The Skinjacker Trilogy, Neal Shusterman reveals new sides of the characters of Everlost, who are pitted against each other in a battle that may destroy all life on Earth.

Review:

Let me start this review with a confession: I freaking love Neal Shusterman. Absolutely everything of his that I have read I have freaking loved. Not just loved -freaking loved. That's a whole lot of love right there. Even some of the authors that I've been reading for a long time don't have the kind of love. Ever since I read Unwind a few years ago, Neal Schusterman has had a special place in my heart as the king of awesomely haunting, meaningful YA novels that are always worth reading -and the Skinjacker trilogy is no exception.


Everfound picks up right where Everwild picks up. Mary Hightower has managed to come back to Everlost, but is stuck in the usual hibernation period (called being an Interlight) before awakening as a full-fledged Afterlight. As her minions wait for her to awaken, Allie and others head west. Meanwhile, Jackin' Jill's path crosses with Jix, a strange Afterlight who has the ability to furjack -or take over the bodies of animals. Jix takes orders from a Mayan king who enjoys collecting the coins of Everlost. As the many characters and plot lines converge, the wild twistiness and epic awesome of Everfound explodes.

Completely and absolutely satisfying, Everfound delivers an epic thrill-ride from start to finish. From the very first word until the last, I couldn't put this book down. I kept flipping pages, desperately wanting to know what would happen next. It was amazing to see the intricate and unexpected twists and turns, even when it got close to end. Even now, Shusterman revealed things about his characters that readers would never expect.

Everfound is an excellent conclusion to a great series. Taking the stakes higher and the plot further, Shusterman continues to develop his world up until the very end, crafting a fascinating and engaging world that never ceases to amaze. I'm really sorry to see this series end. It was a fantastic world with incredibly unique characters, and I would recommend to anyone -Shusterman knows how to do it right.