Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Have you ever laid awake at night, thinking about a book? Maybe you're predicting what will happen next. Maybe you're trying to put yourself in a character's place. This book will make you think of all of these things, and probably more.
This is a fiction story, mostly about Allie and Nick. Allie is in the white Toyota, and Nick is in the black Mercedes. The two cars crash, sending Allie and Nick through their front windsheilds. They both die, and crash into each other on their way to death. They don't reach the light at the end of the tunnel, so they end up in Everlost, the place for children who don't reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Like all Afterlights, Allie and Nick first have to be Interlights for nine months. (An Interlight is a child who has just died and gone to Everlost; Afterlights sleep as Interlights for nine months, then Interlights are "born" as Greensouls, or newly arrived Afterlights.) When they are "born" into Everlost, as twins, they meet a boy that chooses the name Lief, who died at eleven years old. Nick and Allie are very confused fifteen-year-old Greensouls, but they're okay.
Allie is a very special Afterlight, but not because of her Afterglow, the faint blue glow she has. All Afterlights have that. She is special because she can skinjack. She doesn't know how or why she has the interesting ability to jump into living people, or "fleshies", and control them. All she has to do is jump in. Then she can peel out, which isn't easy. It's like trying to take off a wetsuit two sizes too small. But Allie manages it every time. Nick, still with Allie, goes off to the Twin Towers, which crossed into Everlost on September 1, 2001. All things that are destroyed in the living world come into Everlost if they were (and, after their downfall, still are) loved. At the Twin Towers, Nick and Allie meet a beautiful girl from the nineteenth century. Her name is Mary Hightower. Nick is in love, which is technically impossible for an Afterlight. Allie, however, doesn't like Mary, "Queen of Snots" and notices something is wrong.
Allie, Nick, and Lief set off to see a boy who knows the secret to her skinjacking ability. The boy doesn't see potential in Allie, so he seals Nick and Lief in pickle barrels. Allie escapes before he can seal her, and finds the McGill, said to be the worst monster in Everlost. The McGill captures the boy, Lief, Nick, and all of the boy's other prisoners. He "chimes" them, or hangs them by their ankles. Because Afterlights cannot feel pain, the worst thing for them is boredom. The McGill chimes Afterlights, punishing them for no reason. When Allie meets the McGill, she is actually there to free Nick and Lief. What she doesn't know is that the McGill is in love with her, and knows her plan. Things only get worse, but I can't tell you how. That would be ruining the rest of the book.
This book is a book I will remember for a long time. I will remember all of the characters that stood in one spot too long and sunk to the center of the Earth. I will remember all of the trials and successes that all of the characters have. I will remember when Mary Hightower and the McGill meet, and Megan Mary McGill (Mary Hightower) conquers her brother, Mikey McGill (the McGill) and teaches him to show his feelings.
Everlost taught me to remember who I am, and it also taught me that I shouldn't let my flaws define me. (Poor Nick died with chocolate smudged on his face. He can't forget it, so the chocolate practically eats him up. He is so chocolatey, he becomes the Chocolate Ogre, even though he's a really sweet guy. No pun intended.) I'm glad I picked up this book and read it because it has helped me to be grateful for what I have. I have a lot more than some people do. Nick taught me to let people choose their own paths. Allie the Outcast told me to be more adventurous, and that being different is okay. Mary has helped me see the beauty in everyone. The McGill has helped me treat others better. I guess you could say I learned from his mistakes.
I have already read the second book in the Skinjacker Trilogy, Everwild. If you like lots of adventure, a tiny bit of romance, and good shocks and cliffhangers, this book is definetly for you. I loved reading Everlost, and even though it got a little confusing and it was boring at first, I'm glad I read it. It's certainly given me something to think about, and I guarantee you'll think too if you read it. I give this book an A- because it got a little confusing, but it was a great and interesting read. I'm absolutely going to read the final book, Everfound.