NEVERMOOR : THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW
by
JESSICA TOWNSEND
 PUBLICATION YEAR: 2017
GENRE: Children’s Fantasy
PAGE COUNT: 371
FORMAT: Paperback
AVAILABLE AT: amazon
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“A miserable lonely girl who is loathed by everyone around
finds out that she has some kind of magical powers . She is soon taken to a magical
land to learn some magical skills which would help her in the ultimate fight
between good and evil”
That is what the main plot of NEVERMOOR revolves around. It may seem like a story of Harry Potter with
a female protagonist but this book is so much more than that. It has its own
charm.
But I find it
impossible to write a review of this
book without mentioning HARRY POTTER a
couple of times. Hence a Disclaimer-“
This review is filled with Harry Potter references” 😉
Synopsis-
The story follows a girl named
Morrigan Crow . She was born on this day called the Eventide and it is believed
that whoever is born on this day are cursed i.e. She is to be blamed for all the
bad stuff that happens around her. And
most importantly, she is doomed to die
on her eleventh birth day.
However on that day she is taken by a guy
called Jupiter North in a cool
spaceship to the secret city of Nevermoor. There she learns that she had to go
through a series of trials/ competitions in order to get admission into a
prestigious magical institution called as the “ Wundrous Society” under the
mentorship of Jupiter North.
Will she be
able to do it ?
My Thoughts-
As mentioned before, this book gives a very sweet “ Harry Potter” vibe. Just like HP, we have our main protagonist
Morrigan Crow, who is a misfit in the
society, unexpectedly realises her worth and finds a purpose in life through
magic . The similarity doesn't end here. Some of the side characters as well as events
narrated in this book will highly remind you of HP . For instance, the mentor Jupiter North reminded me of
Dumbledore, the institute “ Wundrous Society “ was pretty much similar to
Hogwarts, the Trials (Competitions) that Morrigan had to undergo reminded me of the Triwizard competitions in
The Goblet of Fire. The comparisons
are endless yet it stands on its own with a beautiful imaginative story.
It is based on a
world which is whimsical and colourful . The book had a few illustrations which was visually appealing
and helped to understand this wonderful magical world . Every chapter has a cool
drawing of either a character or the sub plot which made this book fun to read.
The town
Nevermoor where this story takes place
is no less than a paradise . Most of the plot takes place in this hotel called
The Deucalion where Morrigan stays . This hotel is a character in itself. Let
me try to draw a picture of it . There
is a huge chandelier that grows from its
wall, the shadows in the rooms take the life of their own and pleasant
colourful smoke comes out to give you a soothing feeling of happiness and joy . It is run by magical
creatures like a huge talking cat called The Magnificat. That is not all, there
is also a vampire dwarf, a know-it- all
boy with an eye patch and many more weird creatures .
As far as characters are concerned, I found the main
protagonist Morrigan Crow pretty substantial . She was kind, selfless and had all the qualities that
one expects from the character who plays “ the choosen one” in such books. Her
mentor Jupiter North , on the other hand was pretty quirky and colourful. He
had a certain mystery to him . All the
other characters were intriguing and had something to offer to the entire
story.
The plot was pretty standard throughout with very few
surprises to offer . It had all the tropes that one expects from such fantasy
books, hence a little predictable at times.
I kind of predicted the climax
–all thanks to my Harry Potter obsession . 😉
Despite that, it still kept me engaged. It was fast paced and I simply could not keep it down.
Although Each and every page reminded me something of the HP
series- Starting from the theme to the
plot to the characters to the events
which could be a bit annoying and
frustrating to some people. But as an
obsessive Harry Potter fan, the similarities were not a flaw to me. I loved it
as it brought me a sweet nostalgic feeling .
The only drawback for me were the trials/ competitions which covered a major part of the book. I found it a bit underwhelming . This may be
due to my immense love for HP. I was
expecting these trials to be as gripping
and exciting as the ones we see in the Triwizard Competitions in The Goblet of
fire. Although it was not upto that level , it was still enjoyable. 😊
Overall, it was a sweet and fun book to read and I would
definitely recommend it to kids .But I am pretty certain that Adults who have
an inclination towards Fantasy themed books
will also enjoy it.
Rating- 🌑🌑🌑🌑🌓 (4.5/5)
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