His death has been the elephant in the room, to the dismay of the protagonist, and her goal on this night is to address it. From the beginning, it’s known that one in the group (the protagonist’s boyfriend), died mysteriously in his senior year of high school. On a very general level, Neverworld Wake centers on a group of five college students who have been best friends since high school and who gather one evening to catch up, like old times. For example, its complexity makes it difficult to sum up. Although Neverworld Wake is modest compared to her Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film-it doesn’t contain illustrations like Special Topics in Calamity Physics or various fake media like Night Film-in no way is it a modest accomplishment. Pessl has proven herself a masterful writer who goes above and beyond in her work.

The story is a balanced blend of the solid (a murder-mystery element) and the fantastical (the “Neverworld” sci-fi element, also a mystery). and at life.Marisha Pessl’s third book is her first offering not only in the young adult genre but also science fiction, and it’s a success.

Now Beatrice has one last shot at answers. Blithely, he announces the impossible: time for them has become stuck, snagged on a splinter that can only be removed if the former friends make the harshest of decisions. Then a mysterious man knocks on the door. One year after graduation, Beatrice is returning to Wincroft–the seaside estate where they spent so many nights sharing secrets, crushes, plans to change the world–hoping she’ll get to the bottom of the dark questions gnawing at her about Jim’s death.īut as the night plays out in a haze of stilted jokes and unfathomable silence, Beatrice senses she’s never going to know what really happened. Then the shocking death of Jim–their creative genius and Beatrice’s boyfriend–changed everything. Once upon a time, back at Darrow-Harker School, Beatrice Hartley and her five best friends were the cool kids, the beautiful ones. Enter a realm where fears are physical and memories come alive in this absorbing psychological suspense thriller with a twist, from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film.

Neverworld wake book review