4.5 stars
Nowhere Bingo 25: A middle-grade book
CBR17 Bingo: N (a book starting with the letter N)
Morrigan Crow is a cursed child, born on Eventide (think New Year’s Eve, but unlucky) and as such, is due to die at midnight on her 11th birthday. She keeps being blamed for everything bad that happens in her surroundings and spends a lot of time writing apology notes.
However, before she can meet her doom, a mysterious stranger called Jupiter North appears and takes her away, chased by shadowy monsters hunting them, to a different world (or alternate dimension) and a city called Nevermoor. Now, Morrigan gets to live in the magical hotel that Jupiter runs, and starts making friends for the first time in her life. Jupiter intends for Morrigan to join the Wundrous Society, where he is also a prominent member. But to be accepted, she has to compete in four different and very challenging trials over the course of the year, and the final one consists of showing off one’s extraordinary talent. Everyone keeps telling her that her talent will be revealed in due course, but Morrigan is pretty sure that being cursed is not what the leaders of the Society are looking for.
To complicate matters further, it turns out that Jupiter has illegally smuggled Morrigan into Nevermoor, and if she doesn’t pass the trials and get accepted into the Wundrous Society, she’ll be returned to her own world, just in time for her previously scheduled midnight death.
This is the sort of book that I’m pretty sure my son will really enjoy in a few years, when I either read it to him or he picks it up for himself (he currently loves reading comics, like the Dogman books or Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur). Morrigan, who is pale and constantly wears black, even when everyone else is in riotous colours around her, feels very inspired by Wednesday Addams, but she has a more cheerful disposition, and doesn’t seem to actively resent making friends.
Full review on my blog.
Bingo #7: B – The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold, I – In a Jam, N – this, G – Great Big Beautiful Life, O – Oona Out of Order
Bingo #8: Black – Sense and Sensibility, TBR – The Goose Girl, N – this, Family – These Summer Storms, Citizen – Reading Lolita in Tehran
Bingo #9 (diagonal): Free – The Inheritance, Purple – Paladin’s Grace, N – this, Border – Monstrous Regiment, White – The Thursday Murder Club
Bingo #10 (diagonal): Arts – Magically Generated, Red – The Change, N – this Diaspora – Mickey7, Rec’d – Dungeon Crawler Carl
Bingo # 11 (corners and middle): Free – The Inheritance, Rec’d – Dungeon Crawler Carl, N – this, Arts – Magically Generated, White – The Thursday Murder Club