Neverworld Wake

The premise of this book was interesting, but i definitely had some issues with the execution.

First, the story. The groundhog day premise can be a pretty good plot device if done right. I liked how it changed along with the concept of time throughout thd book, but sometimes this was waay too convenient to advance the plot. Also, they initially had one goal, but midway decided on a subplot that would suposedly help achieve said first goal, but why? (if you read it you'll get it). So that made the plot sort of aimless.

Second, the characters. The secondary characters are awful people, as they insist on showing you, and again, but why? We know too little about what actually drives them, we know they fo awful things, nothing more really. We're suposed to believe they're the perfect circle of friends, but really, they never show to care for one another in any profound way, nor am i even sure they knew anything of each other save from superficial traits. And the MC... She's not a terrible person, or so they keep telling you, and yet, annoying, insecure, cryptic, the worlds biggest pushover, this is who we follow through a neverending ride. So, yea, fun.

Then finally, the ending. Thrillers live and die for their twists and endings, and the actual ending is good enough. And then it goes on, in a really long epilogue. By then, they lost me. But i guess the ending wasn't the worst.

So overall, it was an interesting read, better characters and a clearer goal would have elevated my enjoyment. It was a quick read.

I am a huge fan of Night Film and could not wait to dig into Neverworld Wake (despite me being really repelled by the title-I just don't like the way it sounds). Here's the thing: Pessl's writing is way above par. She crafts sentences that are so fabulous, I am yanked out of the story and stop to reread what I just read. Beautiful. BUT the story of Neverworld Wake is a strange one, and while it mostly held my interest (I was bogged down in the “I love Jim so much” flashbacks) it's a little hard to wrap your head around. Add one-dimensional characters to that and it muddies it further. I could not, even now, tell you the difference between Cannon or Kipling, or Jim even. The ladies are a little bit easier. Personally, I wanted more about the Keeper. Creepy!
That is what works here- the creep factor, the ticking time bomb of the vote, the instability. I never knew where the characters were going to go and could not even imagine what I would do in a similar situation. In that, the novel is mind opening. I disagree with some reviews about the pace. I thought the pacing was excellent, it added to the manic feel of the situation.
Overall, although a little flawed (and really, how much of that is me subconsciously comparing it to Night Film? Let's be fair), it's still one of the best novels I've read in awhile. If I can remember it in a month, then it's as good as a I think it is right now.

Characters were not very well developed. Halfway through the book I didn't really even care what happened to them. The premise seemed like it could be interesting, but it never really did much with it. The main character is hailed as a saint and I can't quite see what draws people to like her. The ending was more interesting, but I was disappointed in that as well.

3.5

I do love a good Groundhog Day / Time travel scenario. Lots of fun!

Very entertaining, interesting premise. Nothing revolutionary but fun!

Well-written and engaging, but slow to start, and at times I found myself so annoyed with the teenage drama aspect that I almost quit. But once you get past those, it's a very good and interesting story. Worthwhile read for sure.

This book is so special, I want to cry.

I am finding this book particularly hard to rate.

Neverworld Wake follows 5 teenagers who awake in a a middle space between life and death, and as the synopsis says they must decide which one of them gets to live. There is a lot more to the plot, but to reveal much more would be unfair to how the plot reveals in the book.

Like other reviews I have seen of this book, I feel the way the plot reveals is possibly the best part of the book. I found the characters to be irritating and unrealistic, but over the course of the book I became endeared to them. If the book had been any longer I think I would have got sick of them, but as it was the story was tightly plotted it wasn't so annoying.

I can see why everyone loves it, but I can definitely see why others have issues. I would recommend this book for nothing more than the experience of reading it. It was a wild ride, and I loved every minute of discovering what the hell was going on.

EXTREMELY late review since i just remembered i read this, but...this just wasn't for me. felt like it was trying to do too much and we didn't really get to connect with any of the characters but i really really liked the concept :/

Dit boek heeft een intrigerende, doch herkenbare premise, eentje die vooral gebruikt wordt in komedies zoals Groundhog Day. In dit boek echter, wordt een meer duistere versie van dit gegeven onderzocht en gaan we meer in de richting van een whodunit.
Het verhaal draait volledig rond de mysterieuze dood van één van de vrienden een jaar eerder. Dit mysterie moet nu worden opgelost, binnen dezelfde, zich steeds herhalende dag, waarbij de hoofdpersonages op het einde steeds weer gereset worden naar het begin van die dag, maar met behoud van hun ervaringen en herinneringen van de dagen ervoor.
Het klinkt misschien ingewikkeld, maar in het boek wordt het heel goed en duidelijk benaderd, zonder dat er al te veel woorden aan vuil moeten worden gemaakt.
De ontknoping van het mysterie kent veel plotwendingen en onverwachte onthullingen, maar dit resulteert niet in een waauw-einde. De weg doorheen het mysterie, de vragen die gesteld en opgelost worden zijn onderhoudender dan de ontknoping.
Al bij al een heel entertainend, duister en spannend boek.