Evermore (The Immortals Series #1) by Alyson Noel

From the Publisher

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

VOYA

Ever, trying to drown out her new psychic powers by listening to loud music and covering herself with hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses, feels a sudden and overwhelming connection to Damen, the too-good-to-be true new guy at school. Unlike the other people she has encountered since the accident she somehow survived, she cannot see his aura or hear his thoughts. It is clear from the start that something is not quite normal with Damen. He does not seem to eat or sleep, conjures flowers, has the uncanny ability to seem to know what Ever is thinking, and has knowledge far beyond his seventeen years. Beautiful and cruel Drina seems determined to make to Ever suffer. Drina, Damen, and Ever share a long history as their lives have been entwined for hundreds of years. This first novel in the Immortals series will appeal to fans of the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer, and in fact, seems heavily inspired by it. Although here the beings are immortal, the partial explanation of what that entails is revealed in the closing chapters of the book, which poke a healthy amount of fun at the idea of vampires existing. Ever is ultimately a likeable character as she heals and learns to forgive herself for the accident that killed the rest of her family and let go of her dead younger sister, Riley, who has been a companion to Ever throughout the book. She also falls head over heels in love during the process. Reviewer: Erin Wyatt

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

After surviving a car accident that killed her entire family, 16-year-old Ever gains the ability to see auras and read thoughts. The overwhelming nature of her new powers and her guilt about the accident turn the once-popular teen into a loner at school. She makes friends with stereotypically gay Miles and mega-Goth Haven, and does everything she can to drown out the din of psychic energy around her. Her loner status comes under siege, as does her friendship with Haven, when a new boy, Damen, shows an interest in her. By accident, Ever learns that he has no aura, a fact that pushes her to uncover more about the mysterious newcomer. Some obvious clues, like the red liquid that Damen drinks instead of food, lead Ever to conclude that he is a vampire when in fact his true nature is more complex. Teens will identify with Ever, who not only has to deal with relationship and friend issues, but also with a dead sister who refuses to cross over and crippling psychic powers that make it hard to cope with everyday life. Though the familiar premise may hook many paranormal romance fans, none of the plot elements receive the thorough treatment they deserve, and the revelation in the end relies too heavily on backstory. Not a first pick in this ever-expanding genre.-Kim Ventrella, Ralph Ellison Library, Oklahoma City, OK

Kirkus Reviews

Shallow stock characters barely mar the breathless allure of this formulaic supernatural romance, the first in the Immortals series, though feeble explanations wreck the ending. Ever (her very name a clue to immortality) lives the life of the wealthy in Orange County. Sister Riley visits daily in ghost form, having died with their parents in an accident that Ever perplexingly survived. Deluged by everyone's thoughts and auras, Ever wears hoodies and iPod earbuds as shelter from psychic clamor, until mysterious hottie Damen silences it. This genre's core ingredients are all present: a new school, paranormal events the heroine doesn't understand and a deadly enemy fought by an irresistible, possibly dangerous boy. Ever's vernacular voice (description via negation: "it's not like I haven't had my hand touched before") and amorous fixation will gratify romance fans. However, Noel's metaphysics makes no sense. Manifestations are "simple quantum physics," Ever is murdered lifetime after lifetime but escapes this time due to the serial murderer's "lack of love" and the narrative never explains how Ever reincarnates with a new body and consciousness yet remains herself. (aura color chart) (Fantasy. YA)

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