Review: Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

Summary from Goodreads:

Once upon a time, back at Darrow-Harker School, Beatrice Hartley and her six best friends were the cool kids, the beautiful ones. Then the shocking death of Jim—their creative genius and Beatrice's boyfriend—changed everything.

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. But 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 a mysterious man knocks on the door. 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. Now Beatrice has one last shot at answers--and at life.

Review:


I went into the novel with vague idea of what it was about and was not expecting to enjoy it so much. I've read other novels by Pessl, like Night Film, but this is by far my favorite novel from her.

What I Liked:

Characters.

Plot. It has been a while since I've read such an original story, it kept me guessing the whole way through. And the atmosphere/supernatural elements were so interesting to read about. I don't want to give anything away because I feel the book is best enjoyed when you know nothing about it. 

Writing Style. I already knew that I would like the writing style because I really enjoyed Night Film. However, I have to say the writing in this one was all time favorite of Marisha Pessl's and of this whole year. 

Genre. I'm uncertain what genre this book belongs in and that makes me like it ten times more. It is a mixture of contemporary, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, and they all work together well. 

I recommend checking out this novel if you want a unique story with intriguing characters. 

Rating:

5 Stars Out of 5 Stars