Title:   Evie and the Upside-Down World of Nevermore
Author:   Birgitte Märgen
Genre:   YA, fantasy
Rating:   3.5 out of 5

Evie doesn’t feel like she fits in. She comes from the wrong side of the tracks, so she doesn’t really have any friends. One night, when she’s running through the woods, she falls down a hole and finds herself—like Alice—in a strange world. An angry gnome gives her a compass stick, and Evie must use it to guide herself through the strange, mixed-up world where fairies bite, unicorns attack, and mermaids are evil.

I loved the concept of this book. It’s creative, and all the different worlds Evie travels through are intriguing. I especially like the giant world and the snow elves. Evie herself is erratic, though. Her internal voice sounds normal, but occasionally, she veers off into some backwoods/Appalachian hillbilly dialect and sayings that feel forced and unnatural after her mostly “normal” voice. And, her feeling of isolation because of her wrong-side-of-the-tracks background is the motivation for her flight through the woods, but it isn’t really touched on again. Once she’s fallen into Nevermore, it’s her against the world (literally), but it feels more like a series of obstacles without an actual plot or antagonist to give it focus. I did enjoy the different settings, but overall, this felt a bit unfocused.

Evie and the Upside-Down World of Nevermore is the newest book by Birgitte Märgen.

(Galley courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.)

• book review
• books
• reading
• YA