Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend: Review by Ahana Sil

 Book Review by Ahana Sil

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

This novel is a sci-fi fantasy revolving around a young girl named Morrigan Crow, who has been anticipating the day the next Eventide will arrive, marking the end of an age, as well as her life. Morrigan has been “cursed” her whole life for being born on the unluckiest day a child can be born, Eventide. Politicians and townspeople alike blame her for various unfortunate events ranging from hailstorms to fractured hips, and she spends much of her time writing and mailing out apology letters for acts she hasn’t had any part in. Her father is more interested in maintaining his status as a politician than showing affection or care towards her, and the cherry on top is when Eventide comes an entire year before expected, further shortening Morrigan’s already much too short life. But before death can snatch her away at midnight, an eccentric man named Jupiter North gets to her first. Tricking Morrigan’s family into believing she’s already dead, Jupiter brings her to the fantastic world of Nevermoor, a place she has never heard of before, and informs her that he’s chosen her to participate in order to win a place in the city’s most renowned organization, the Wundrous Society. And if matters aren’t confusing enough already, Morrigan has to fight with all that she has in order to make it in, or else she’ll be forced to leave the city and face the death she had cheated. This book immediately had my attention at the interesting premise, and it had me hooked the entire time. I loved seeing Morrigan work past her insecurities and adapt to a much kinder society after living a life where all she knew was loneliness and shame. It was great to see the common fear of not being able to fit in echoed in her thoughts and actions as she tries to make a place for herself in this new world, and her realistic feelings of confusion yet awe throughout really tie the whole story together. There’s adventure, there’s action, an element of mystery, and a sense of urgency surrounding the entire plot and tying everything together. Truly an incredible story that many will enjoy.