Neverwas

Gr 8 Up—This gothic-toned novel is set in an alternate future; a war-torn, stilted society created by one small change in history. Sarah Parsons and her family have recently moved to their ancestral home of Amber House, which is in the American Confederation of States, a conservative and restrictive area of the country. Sarah is miserable here, in what feels like a foreign land, and Amber House itself isn't helping. While she loved it as a child, now it seems eerie and frightening. Then she begins to see visions of her ancestors acting out scenes from the past. What's more, Sarah sees herself…but not herself. When these visions are over, she can remember incidents from her past, though she, the Sarah that is here now, never did the things that girl did. Is she going mad like her great-aunt Fiona? Or is Amber House trying to tell her something about the past, the future, and how to fix both? Sarah is moderately well developed, though not terribly likable. Additionally, while her visions are a key plot point, they are confusing both to her and to readers. There is a unique story here, and it has some interesting elements, but it may lose readers in its maze of intertwined pasts and futures. Strictly for fans of the first book.—Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL