Nevermore...

Just finished reading Nevermore by Kelly Creagh. This is apparently the first of a trilogy.

I love Poe, and the short stories and poems I have managed to read have been amazing. He is one of the best horror writers, in my opinion. I introduced my eighth graders to some of his short stories, and some began to wonder whether or not he, Poe, did the crimes described because of how well he had captured the narrator's voice. The themes of his stories and poetry show the extreme, because of course normal human beings do not encase people in tombs for revenge. However gothic and "scary" most of his work is, Poe does have some captivating love poems as well.
This book, Nevermore, is great because it doesn't just mention Poe briefly. The author creates a fictional horror land based on Poe's characters and themes.
The story involves a typical teenage girl whose soul purpose is to be a cheerleader, have the football playing boyfriend, and do what her parents ask because it is the right decision. She gets paired up to do an English project with a boy who is the exact opposite; goth, dreary, and creepy. As times goes on, her life begins to change. Her social status falls away, and she searches for answers that this boy seems to be hiding. The love she begins to feel for him leads her down paths she never visited. She soon becomes face to face with a fictional interpretation of Poe's most horrifying stories.
I was eager to reach the end, but it left me craving the second book because of the cliff I was left hanging from. The writing is beautiful. Her descriptions of this world left me with goosebumps, and she creates a place where the line between reality and fiction are blurred. I enjoyed discovering more about the characters, but I was impressed with the amount of information the author included about Poe's past.
Truly a work of art. I am sure the second one will leave the same impression. Because the author has not set a release date, I guess we just have to wait. :/