And what has hauled me back into this strange blog place?
This
Morrigan Crow is a Cursed Child. Born on Eventide 11 years before, she and all the other children born on then are destined to die on the next Eventide, an event that happens roughly every 12 years. Not only are they cursed to die but the children are also blamed for anything unfortunate that happens in their communities during their lifetimes. As a result, Morrigan has grown up shunned and lonely but with a fierce sense of self. When Eventide and her foretold death arrives, she is rescued from the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow (the ghosts who take the cursed children) by the strange and mysterious Jupiter North and whisked away from Jackalfax to a city she has never heard of -- Nevermoor.Jupiter reveals that he plans to sponsor her for membership in Wunderous Society. Only nine children are accepted each year out of hundreds. They must go through three trials, each trial weeding out unlucky candidates, then demonstrate their "knack" before judges and the entire city.
For the first time in her life, Morrigan has friends. And she gets to live her Jupiter's hotel, Hotel Deucaloin where her room magically changes according to her interests, head of housekeeping is a giant cat, and every room has something new and interesting. It would be just about perfect except ... Morrigan doesn't have a knack. Or at least one that she knows about. If she doesn't make it through the final trial and gain entrance into the Wunderous Society, she will be sent back to Jackalfax where the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow wait.
This book is awesome. On a scale of 1(50 Shades) to 10 (Harry Potter) it is a solid 9, easy. I read it in on a Sunday and on Monday started listening to the audiobook of it at work. Then I recommended it to anyone who showed any indications they could read. And now I'm recommending it to the interwebs.
All the stories ever told are based on a handful of plots. We know more or less where each story is going to go when it starts, what really matters is the journey the author takes to get us there. Have they created a world I want to spend time in and characters I want to spend time with? Are there enough twists to keep me interested even though I have a good idea of the basic plot? Jessica Townsend manages all these thing in this book
I want to stay at Hotel Deucalion, I want to experience the Battle of Christmas, and I especially want to kick Morrigan's father in the knee. I want to know who the Grey Man is and how he manages to move between Nevermoor and Jackalfax, something which is supposed to be impossible (Jupiter North's excursions aside). And I want to meet Jupiter North, who strikes me as very similar to the Eleventh Doctor.
Jessica Townsend's writing reminds me of J. K. Rowling, mixing darker themes with lighter moments and highlighting the relationships among the characters.
The book has already been optioned for a movie (please no!) and a sequel to it comes out in November 1, 2018, a mere 125 days away.
