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"Everlost"

by Neal Shusterman

reviewed by Josh Meares

The Story

While "Everlost" never reached the astronomical sales figures of J.K. Rawlings "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" or Stephenie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn," it is clearly one of the best teen novels of the last year that deals with death and dying.

In "Everlost," two teens, Nick and Allie, are involved in a car crash and they don't survive. But they don't quite die either. Their souls are stuck in a place halfway between life and death, a place with strange new rules.

In Everlost, no one needs sleep, but everyone gets tired. No one gets older, but peopls still lose their memories over time, even their names. And there are NO adults. Allie and Nick are frightened, but determined to get their lives back. Their search for a way out of Everlost takes them on a great adventure, but if they don't escape soon they might not be able to remember where "home" is.

The Verdict

Neal Shusterman is a writer's writer. His writing is clean, clear, and easy to understand. He is also a inventive storyteller with a strong understanding of who his characters are. The result is a book that is clear enough for teenagers, but with enough personality and thought that adults will enjoy reading it, as well.

Shusterman writes: "I prefer to ask questions that will challenge you to think, and see the world -- and your own life -- in fresh ways. The way I see it, a book should be a powerful experience. It should make you see new colors you never imagined existed -- but now that you've seen them, you can see them everywhere."

"Everlost" contains no inappropriate content, unless the idea of a fictional alternative to heaven is an idea you prefer not to deal with. All in all, I liked the book, the story, and the ideas it brings up.

Worldview

The biggest problem with living in Everlost is that it is very easy to get "stuck in a rut." "Stuck in a rut" is what Allie calls it when a person keeps doing the same thing over and over and over again. And the longer a person is in a rut, the harder it is to break out.

Nick writes his name on a sheet of paper for 15 hours straight. Lief plays Pac-Man without sleeping or growing tired for a month. So Allie and Nick must be constantly vigilant or they will find themselves in an eternal rut.

The idea behind this plot point is an incredible one: "Is what you are doing right now worth doing for an eternity?" Though it may sound incredible, if you look around, you will see that it is just as easy for us to get stuck in a pattern as it is for the children of Everlost.

Think for a second about your life. How different is each day from the day before? Aren't they all pretty much the same? Get up at 6:30 in the morning, get ready for school, eat breakfast, go to school, etc, etc. The weekends may or may not be filled with parties, but it is probably the same friends, same music, same locations.

What if that was your routine for the next 10 years, or 20, or 50, or even 500? Is that the life that Christ would have you to live? As Christians, we cannot afford to get stuck in a rut. We can't afford to do the same things every day without thinking. We must always consider what God would have us to do. It's not because we are going to live in some fairyland where we do the same thing for eternity, but because our actions in this life have eternal consequences.

It is almost impossible to comprehend that God has chosen to make us his messengers, as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:20. And it is even more incomprehensible that our daily actions can show people Christ. If we paint a poor picture of Christ, the consequences of that action could last forever. That is why God gave us this piece of Scripture:

"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

"But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8)

Christ could come today or tomorrow. Then there would be no more chances for us to tell people about Him. No more chances to live out the Great Commission or to put into practice the commands to love our neighbor and care for the sick and poor.

Any time we get stuck in a rut, it is tough to get out. And the longer we have been stuck, the harder it is. But we MUST get out of our ruts and help others out of theirs.

I can't bear to consider the alternative. Is your spiritual life in a rut right now? Do you feel far from God? Try reading through 1 Thessalonians, especially chapter 5, to see what your life could look like. Remember, Jesus is COMING BACK!

Questions

1. Have you been stuck in a rut, spiritual or otherwise, lately? Why do you think that is?
2. Are any of your friends stuck in ruts?
3. There are many people who think that high school is the best time of their lives. So take a second and look at your daily life. Now imagine your parents living the same life you do. How do you think they would feel about that?
4. If you are not growing in Christ, you are stuck in a rut. Are you growing? In what areas? Where is God working in your life?

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