Immortal by Gillian Shields

From the Publisher

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.

Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

Gillian Shields's electrifying tale will dazzle readers with suspense, mysticism, and romance.

Publishers Weekly

Shields, author of the Mermaid S.O.S. series, takes a gothic turn in this absorbing romance. Upon her beloved grandmother's hospitalization, 16-year-old Evie is sent to one of England's most prestigious boarding schools, the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, located amid gloomy moors (“Towers and battlements jutted up crazily to the sky.... It was as though I had blundered back into a bygone age”). Despite a meandering beginning, the story accelerates with the interlaced historical narrative of Lady Agnes, whose family built the abbey that has become the school. Evie's scholarship and the required chores that accompany it isolate her from her rich, snotty classmates, but life seems to improve when she meets the alluring Sebastian. Odd visions and fainting spells begin to plague Evie, and further investigation uncovers the dark truth about Sebastian. As Evie explores Wyldcliffe's twisted history, she navigates questions about love, life and betrayal. Though the ending is tinged with a modern girl-power supernatural twist, the fresh take on classic ghostly romances will leave readers hungry for more. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)

VOYA

Sensible sixteen-year-old Evie Johnson did not believe in any of that paranormal "mumbo jumbo" until she arrived at Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies. Everything about her new school is strange and uncomfortable to Evie until she meets Sebastian. Her secret late-night meetings with him give Evie something to look forward to each day and help her feel less alone. But the more time Evie spends with him, the more she realizes how little she knows about him. With the help of friends, Evie begins to uncoil the mystery surrounding not only Sebastian but also her mysterious connection to Agnes Templeton, the daughter of a previous owner of the house. The appealing cover and intriguing premise of this book is certain to capture the interest of teen readers—particularly fans of paranormal fiction. Unfortunately the plot is extremely predictable and is dragged down by awkward pacing. The beginning unfolds much too slowly and comes to a rushing and somewhat abrupt finish, leaving too many questions unanswered. The information provided through Agnes's journal entries provides too much foresight to readers who will know what is coming too far in advance of its revelation to Evie. Characters have little or no dimensional value and are difficult to care about in any meaningful fashion. Readers are expected to blindly accept many plot elements with scant to no explanation. Although there is a sequel planned, most readers will be left unsatisfied and will have not formed enough of a connection with Evie to really care what happens next. Reviewer: Alissa Lauzon

VOYA

What could have been a great romantic mystery novel is overshadowed by unrealistic and stilted dialogue and a too rapid pace that left me confused and unsatisfied. Major events seem to come out of nowhere with little set-up and relationships become intense and important too quickly. Evie loves Sebastian, but I don't know why. She had friends like Sarah and Helen who suddenly were as important to her as sisters. It was as if the author had all of the details in her head, but she forgot to explain what was going on and why. Things happened so quickly and with so little detail and dialogue that I was left saying "huh?" making it almost impossible to relate to Evie and the other characters. I wanted to be drawn in but the writing prevented me from doing so. Reviewer: Mary Boutet, Teen Reviewer

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10–Sensible Evie Johnson arrives alone to face her new life at the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies. Raised by her beloved grandmother, Evie never wanted to attend boarding school, especially one for spoiled rich girls. But Frankie has fallen gravely ill and Evie’s father is away in military service, so off to Wyldcliffe she goes. It is as horrible as Evie suspected it would be. The girls mistreat her, the headmistress is a nightmare, and she keeps seeing a girl who looks just like her. Evie’s only joy comes from her budding romance with elusive Sebastian, who tells her that he lives near the school. Why will he only meet her at night? What does he know about the mysteries surrounding the school? And who is that shadowy girl? Billed as the first in “a paranormal romance series,” this lightweight story is filled with romance, mystery, and suspense. The moors provide plenty of atmosphere and Wyldcliffe Abbey and its teachers are downright spooky.–Sharon Grover, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI

Kirkus Reviews

Evie, a motherless and lonely scholarship student at the very posh Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies somewhere on unspecified moors of England, pursues a furtive and resolutely chaste late-night romance with Sebastian, whose good looks, dark moods, manipulative behavior and anachronistic speech will remind readers of Twilight's Edward Cullen. The narrative alternates between the present and the Victorian diary of Lady Agnes Templeton, who is linked to both Sebastian and Evie. The diary reveals their connections to Agnes (to whom Evie bears a striking resemblance and whom she sees in visions), but only hints at the worst of Sebastian's secret. Naturally, good must battle evil, while Evie must confront her demons and emerge damaged but victorious. Two-dimensional characters, overheated dialogue and a mishmash of predictable plotting cribbed from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Circle of Magic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight yield a profoundly derivative reading experience. The door is left open for a sequel, but with so much worthwhile source material to read instead, readers will ask, why? (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Product Details

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Immortal

Chapter One

I never wanted to go to boarding school. Hanging out with a crowd of rich kids in a swanky school was never on my wish list. I was content with my old life, in a keeping-myself-to-myself kind of way. Not happy, perhaps, but content. And then, one soft blue September day, my grandmother—Frankie—became seriously ill. She had never been Gran to me, only dearest Frankie, my surrogate mom, my best friend. I had stupidly expected her to go on unchanged forever. But no one is immortal, not even the people we love. And now Frankie was sick and I was forced to pack my bags for Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies. Life really gives you a kick sometimes.

I was doing my best to think of it as a challenge.

The journey to Wyldcliffe seemed to last hours as the train headed north. I was traveling alone. Dad had wanted to come with me, but I'd convinced him that I would be okay going by myself. I knew he wanted to spend every possible moment of his leave with Frankie at the nursing home before he had to go back to his army posting overseas. So I told him I was quite capable of sitting on a train for a few hours without ending up on a missing persons poster.... Honestly, Dad, I'm sixteen now, not a child anymore.... It wasn't that difficult to persuade him.

The truth was that I guessed it would be easier saying good-bye to him at home. The last thing I wanted was for those snobby Wyldcliffe girls to see me sniveling as my dad drove away. No, there was going to be no "poor Evie" this time. I'd had enough of that over Mom. People whispering about me in the street. The pitying looks behind my back. It wasn'tgoing to be like that again. I was going to show them that I didn't need anyone. I was strong, as strong as the deep green ocean. No one at Wyldcliffe would ever see me cry.

I transferred to a sleepy local train just as it was beginning to get dark. We chugged through an unfamiliar landscape of sloping hills covered with bracken and heather. In the depths of my misery I felt a twinge of curiosity. When I was little, Frankie had told me stories about Wyldcliffe, which she had heard from her mother, stories about the wild moors and the lonely farms and the harsh northern skies. I had never seen the place, but now I was almost there. I put away my magazine and my headphones and peered out of the window into the dusk.

Half an hour later, the train pulled into a little station at the head of a deep, shadowed valley. As I heaved my bags into a beat-up old taxi, a gust of wind whipped up a spatter of rain. I said, "Wyldcliffe, please," and we set off. I tried to make conversation with the bleary-eyed taxi driver, but he barely grunted in reply. We drove on in silence.

Between the clouds, I caught sight of the sun slipping behind the moors like a streak of blood. The leaden sky seemed to press down heavily on the land. I had lived all my life next to the open sea, and those dark hills made me feel strangely hemmed in. For all my brave talk, I suddenly felt very small and alone. How stupid I'd been not to let Dad come.... Then the car turned a corner, and the church tower and gray stone buildings of Wyldcliffe village finally came into sight.

The driver pulled up outside a tiny general store on the rain-blackened street. "Where to, then?" he growled.

"The Abbey," I replied. "You know, Wyldcliffe Abbey School."

He twisted his head around and glared at me. "I'll not take you to that cursed place," he spat. "You can get out and walk."

"Oh, but—" I protested. "I don't know where it is. And it's raining."

The man seemed to hesitate, but then he grunted again. "It's not so far to walk. Knock on the door of Jones's shop, if you like. He'll drive you, but I won't."

He got out of the car and dropped my suitcases onto the wet pavement. I scrambled after him. "But where's the school? Where do I go?"

"The Abbey is yonder," he said, pointing reluctantly to the church. "No more than half a mile from the graveyard. Tell Dan Jones that's where you're headed."

A second later his car roared out of the village, leaving me behind like an unwanted package. I couldn't believe that he had just dumped me there in the pouring rain. I knocked furiously on the door of the little shop, where the sign read, D. JONES, WYLDCLIFFE STORE AND POST OFFICE. There was no answer. It was a late, wet Sunday evening, and the whole village seemed to be shut down for the night. I swore under my breath. There was no choice but to walk.