Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica TownsendMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Look, you can't really read this book without comparing it to Harry Potter, but it does have its own merits so I'll try not to dwell too long on the similarities.
But first, here's the opening: our protagonist lives a miserable existence with a family that blames her for everything that goes wrong, and mistreats her because of things out of her control. Then, on her 11th birthday she's rescued by a large man who bursts in and spouts a whole bunch of nonsense -which he expects our protagonist to understand, even though she's standing there looking at him like an idiot - before whisking her away to a magical land where everyone instantly loves her.
Sounds familiar, right?
The mysterious, quirky, and overly friendly
The fantasy land created here was a lot to take in at first, but once you get used to the flood of magic in Nevermoor it's fun to just go with it. I'm always a fan of creative magical things so I was enamoured with the constantly changing bedroom, and the variety of talented characters. Plus, dragons. If you want me to forgive all of your ridiculous ripping off of other story lines, throw me dragons and I will happily sit back and allow you to proceed.
Give me a prankster dragon-rider and I might even be grinning.
I love Hawthorne. He's a lot of fun - young, reckless, carefree, and straight up. I was expecting Morrigan to make a few more friends her own age, but if all we get is Hawthorne, I'll still be happy. He's a good egg. Expecting more of Anah in the sequel, though.
Jupiter is also a really likeable character, even if he is a little too Dumbledore at times. He seems a little naive, and I hate that he's constantly keeping secrets, but overall I like that he's actually out and about doing important things. Plus him refereeing between Mog and Jack was adorable.
Jack is a great character, too, and I was 100% on his side when Morrigan was all, 'get out of my seat.' Because, RUDE. Girl, get some manners. My money is on a romance down the track, though. It'll bug me, but I'm preparing myself for it now.
Look, I kinda have the same problem with Morrigan that I had with Harry. They're both obnoxious, and expect the world to revolve around them. They snap at people and are rude and angsty and get cranky over stupid things. They are both all, 'oh dear, I don't want to be evil!' but then they mope about it and actually seem a bit proud of how hard life is for themselves? Cheer up, kids. Morrigan also wears black all the time which is a small thing but basically shouts, 'I hate anything fun' and that makes me a little sad. Just ... angsty characters depress me. Go have some fun pranking people with your friends, please. It's much more entertaining.
I like the uniqueness of the hotel and its cast of characters, so that was a great selling point. The actual world of Nevermoor is a little hard for me to picture so it was nice to have this downsized version to accommodate to, first. I'm still not entirely sure how the transport system works, tbh.
YES, there are some uncanny similarities between this book and HP, but it does manage to find it's own niche and create a colourful, unique world of new magic for the reader to discover. It IS middle grade, so the target audience is going to appreciate this a lot more than a jaded adult, so please take that into account. There are some fantastic characters that will steal your heart, and there is plenty of action to keep the pace rolling.
Overall, a pretty fantastic start to a new fantasy series that's bound to be a hit with both younger and older readers alike.
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