| Evernight | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 58 reviews)
Sales Rank: 16806
Category: Book
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperTeen
Studio: HarperTeen
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
Label: HarperTeen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0061284394
EAN: 9780061284397
ASIN: 0061284394
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Release Date: May 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Bianca wants to escape. She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in. Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful?even when it comes to caring about him. "I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would." But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
 Doesn't Quite Do It September 5, 2008
Vampires seem to be the latest trend for books these days. I picked up Evernight with that in mind. However, I didn't expect it to be a knock-off of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. From the prologue and first person narrative, right down to the color of her love interest's hair (which started out a golden brown and quickly turned to bronze), this book was screaming, "Twilight!" Not only is there another possible love interest that would be Jacob if this was Twilight (big surprise there), but there are also going to be four books in the series. How obvious can you get?
However, in it's own right, this book was not that bad. I was on the vampire bandwagon, having just finished Breaking Dawn, and didn't want to jump off just yet. So I should have expected something similar to the Twilight series. The one big problem that I had with the book on it's own was finding out Bianca's secret in the middle of the book. I was left wondering why I wasn't told in the beginning. It seemed like the author was just going for a twist (which she did). But I felt cheated somehow not knowing at the beginning. I find out all these little habits and things that her parents have been telling her since she was a kid in the middle, when it would have made more sense at the beginning.
For those who want something VERY similar to the Twilight series, this book would be a good choice.
 Can't wait for the next installment! September 4, 2008
I was totally unfamiliar with this genre, but read it because I know the author personally. I found myself really engrossed in the story of these young people and their unique station in life, and, in retrospect, got a whole new perspective on what and who vampires are! I want to know Bianca and Lucas and know what their lives are going to be like in the future. I remember my professor of sophomore lit. at Ole Miss saying that a book will mean only as much to you as you care about the characters. I think readers will care about them for many years to come. I hope Ms. Gray has many future successes - she certainly has the "voice" that only a truly great writer has.
 Tiring and Disappointing September 1, 2008
Plot: Welcome to Evernight Academy, an Eerie Gothic Boarding School where everyone is perfect, except Bianca.
Bianca is being forced to attend Evernight Academy because her parents, who are teachers, got a job there and would also like Bianca to expand her horizons. They think it will be good for her.
From the get go, you get the sense there is something unsettling about Evernight Academy. It's not as it appears and there is more than meets the eye going on at this boarding school.
Turns out Bianca is a student among a large group of perfect teens. They are rich, smart, worldy, competitive and seem to be more advanced than other teens their age. They are perfect. Bianca is nothing like the other students and at this school if you arent one of "them", you're a nobody.
While at Evernight, Bianca ends up meeting a boy named Lucas. He's quite funny, charming and good looking. He also dislikes the in crowd at Evernight even more than Bianca does and he's not afraid to show it...
As these 2 bond, it seems some of the students are starting to warm up to Bianca, yet still dislike Lucas. In the middle of this Bianca encounters other out of place students who are starting to have strange dreams about the school.
From there on out, the book gets stranger...
I really liked Evernight in the beginning. I found the characters to be interesting, charming and humorous... Then things take a turn for the worse.
I don't like the direction this book takes towards the middle. You really get to know some of the characters. You identify with all these people and believe they are who they say they are. Then the author decides to pull the rug out from under you. You feel cheated. Here comes a huge plot twist- and it's not one of those, " Wow, this makes the book more interesting deals," it's more of a let down feeling. Then you start to wonder, what exactly is going on here? Where is the author going with this? and why is there such a sudden abrupt change of story after we have gotten to know all the characters.
This book is too fanciful for my tastes. The plot is nonsensical, even for a Vampire story...
The bottom line is the book is well written, the characters well presented and at first believable, then it does a 180 on you. After this I could barely finish reading the book. This book is about Vampires, romanticism and has a gothic edge. Extremely long and disappointing.
Outstanding teen read August 31, 2008
"Evernight" is a thrilling book -- filled with excitement, intrigue, secrets, and classic teen drama. Set at an eerie boarding school (Evernight), this book has the old-timey feel of Harry Potter mixed with the modern teen drama of cliques and outcasts. Throughout the beginning of the book the narrator, Bianca Olivier, makes references to something very unique about Evernight, but it isn't until the middle that you uncover the secret and find out the truth about Evernight. I loved that the author kept the secret for so long; it added to the suspense and mystery, creating a huge turning point where least expected. Looking back you can see all the clues, however unnoticable at the time.
The characters all seem very real and believable, including Lucas, a fellow outcast at Evernight Academy who is determined to stand up to his peers; Vic, Lucas's hilariously oblivious roommate; and Mrs. Bethany, the no-nonsense and super-strict headmistress.
The ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel and I hope that one is being written. I can't wait to find out how the story continues.
This book seems to be a mix of the Twilight series, Harry Potter, and "I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You" by Ally Carter. If you enjoyed any of these books, I would definitely recommend "Evernight".
Vampires, Angst, and All the Rage in Teen Lit August 29, 2008
First off, I should admit I don't read much YA fiction. But I have a fourteen year old niece who has become, like many of her peers, so totally enraptured with Stephanie Meyer's TWILIGHT series that I was curious to see how EVERNIGHT fared, since its mix of teenage turmoil, rebellion, burgeoning sexual attraction, and the almost alternate universe of a creepy gothic school seemed like it hit all the hot buttons for teenage fiction.
And EVERNIGHT fairly adroitly hits all those hot buttons, well enough to see why Harper Teen would have seen fit to publish the book, knowing that it would make a connection with the legion of not only Meyer fans, but Harry Potter fans as well. EVERNIGHT should not be a disappointment for its audience: pre-teen and teenage girls who relate to the idea of a somewhat beautiful, somewhat misfit heroine slightly out of step and falling hard for a mysterious, alluring, with-whiffs-of-danger-all-around-him hero. Its story, with its supernatural, thriller overtones is almost secondary to the romantic inclinations underlying the suspense. All in all, this is a good read and a solid genre entry.
Where EVERNIGHT doesn't like live up to its promise is in its prose, which is pedestrian, workmanlike, and very obviously written with its target audience in mind. Another reviewer said something along the lines of good YA fiction simply being a good book that didn't include scenes which might inappropriate for younger readers, and I agree with that. I think Claudia Gray wrote a bit down to her audience and I don't know if that was necessary.
But, in the end, Gray spins a tale that keeps the pages turning and writes a story that would not present any quibbles for its hungry legion of readers, looking for the next Stephanie Meyer fix.
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