Enshadowed

Gr 7 Up–In this sequel to Nevermore (S & S, 2010), cheerleader heroine Isobel is fixated on finding and saving Varen, the boyfriend she left stranded in a nightmarish dream world inhabited by the creatures in Edgar Allan Poe’s writings. Her attempts to maintain a façade of normality are exhaustively described as she plans to deceive her parents (again), run away, and confront the Poe Toaster–a mysterious figure who visits Poe’s grave on the anniversary of the author’s birth–in the hope of discovering a means of reentering the dream world. Meanwhile, she is tormented by flashes of Varen in mirrored surfaces, pulled into visions by a menacing spirit, and teased by a seductive demoness, Lilith, until Isobel has trouble distinguishing between reality and dreams. Lengthy descriptions set a gothic tone that will appeal to some teens, but the overall experience is hindered by the novel’s excessive length and lackluster interaction among characters.–Nicole Politi, The Ocean County Library, Lavallette, NJ