Last Bus to Everland
I'm absolutely a lover of fantasy. So when I saw Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron on Netgalley, I knew that I had to give it a read.
When I first started reading it, actually, I was reading it out loud to my husband in the car. I read the first paragraph of this and another book and asked him which one sounded more interesting. We both agreed that Last Bus to Everland had a better hook!
Brody Fair seems to be your run-of-the-mill teenager. He feels overlooked, bullied, has low self-esteem, and just overall struggles to enjoy his life. One day while being teased by the neighborhood girls who call him "Fairy," he meets Nico, who is definitely not your run-of-the-mill teenager. He is a handsome art student who stands up for Brody and to top it all off, he is wearing wings. Nico invites Brody to join him and his friends at a party.
Turns out this isn't really a party, but an adventure of a lifetime. Every Thursday night at 11:21 pm, a portal opens to another world, something like a "knock-off Narnia" that Nico and his friends like to call "Everland." But no matter what they do there or how long they stay, when they go back through the portal to their normal lives, only a few minutes have passed.
Brody finally feels like he is "seen." He makes new friends, he gets to enjoy his hobbies and talents and best of all, it's an escape from his perfect older brother and his family's money problems. But suddenly, Brody finds himself facing the possibility of either losing "Everland" or losing his life and his family. Will he get on the "last bus to Everland?"
This is Sophie Cameron's 2nd book (Her first is Out of the Blue). While Last Bus to Everland is already out in the UK, it will be released in the US on June 18th! You can pre-order your own copy here! Sophie is from Scotland (guess that's why the book is set in Edinburgh) but she lives with her wife in Barcelona! She is a lover of cats, banjos, and learning new languages.
Similar to my review of The Disasters, I really liked that this book had such a diverse group of characters all facing different problems and life situations without it feeling all just mashed together for diversity sake. Brody is gay, there are other side characters of varying sexualities and ethnicities, his best friend deals with an eating disorder, and his dad is agoraphobic. The characters felt natural and well-written! It really draws you into reading the book.
There were a TON of references to Peter Pan, Neverland, Tinkerbell, etc. as should be expected in a book called "Everland." Brody reminisces about his childhood memories of these things and it reminded me of watching the Disney movie and all its characters.
I liked this book and I zoomed through it thanks to its quick pacing, deep characters, and strong motivations. I think Cameron did a fantastic job of making sure that this was a fun, playful book while also tackling struggles that many teens face at school, at home, with their friends. Is it worth losing our grip on reality in order to escape the harsh things we face on a day to day basis?
I recommend this book for lovers of fantasy, Peter Pan, Queer and diverse characters, and well-written YA books. I hope you'll give it a chance.
When I first started reading it, actually, I was reading it out loud to my husband in the car. I read the first paragraph of this and another book and asked him which one sounded more interesting. We both agreed that Last Bus to Everland had a better hook!
Turns out this isn't really a party, but an adventure of a lifetime. Every Thursday night at 11:21 pm, a portal opens to another world, something like a "knock-off Narnia" that Nico and his friends like to call "Everland." But no matter what they do there or how long they stay, when they go back through the portal to their normal lives, only a few minutes have passed.
Brody finally feels like he is "seen." He makes new friends, he gets to enjoy his hobbies and talents and best of all, it's an escape from his perfect older brother and his family's money problems. But suddenly, Brody finds himself facing the possibility of either losing "Everland" or losing his life and his family. Will he get on the "last bus to Everland?"
This is Sophie Cameron's 2nd book (Her first is Out of the Blue). While Last Bus to Everland is already out in the UK, it will be released in the US on June 18th! You can pre-order your own copy here! Sophie is from Scotland (guess that's why the book is set in Edinburgh) but she lives with her wife in Barcelona! She is a lover of cats, banjos, and learning new languages.
Similar to my review of The Disasters, I really liked that this book had such a diverse group of characters all facing different problems and life situations without it feeling all just mashed together for diversity sake. Brody is gay, there are other side characters of varying sexualities and ethnicities, his best friend deals with an eating disorder, and his dad is agoraphobic. The characters felt natural and well-written! It really draws you into reading the book.
There were a TON of references to Peter Pan, Neverland, Tinkerbell, etc. as should be expected in a book called "Everland." Brody reminisces about his childhood memories of these things and it reminded me of watching the Disney movie and all its characters.
I liked this book and I zoomed through it thanks to its quick pacing, deep characters, and strong motivations. I think Cameron did a fantastic job of making sure that this was a fun, playful book while also tackling struggles that many teens face at school, at home, with their friends. Is it worth losing our grip on reality in order to escape the harsh things we face on a day to day basis?
I recommend this book for lovers of fantasy, Peter Pan, Queer and diverse characters, and well-written YA books. I hope you'll give it a chance.
Comments