📖 Everlost

(Everlost is the first book in the Skinjacker Trilogy) Nick and Allie die in the car crash—or at least, they were supposed to. They were supposed to float towards the light at the end of the tunnel to spend the rest of their eternity in whatever they were deemed appropriate for. But they are knocked off course and instead make it to a world called Everlost. Everlost is where you go when you don't get where you should, but don't stay in the living world either. It just so happens that the two teenagers end up there. When they wake, they are greeted by a young boy named Lief, who explains that they are now Greensouls, or the souls that are still new to the twists and turns of the in-between world. Lief explains to them about deadspots, gravity fatigue, and why's it so important to keep moving. Unfortunately for Lief, who's been stuck in Everlost for who knows how many years and is desperate for playmates, Nick and Allie would rather find a way out. Or at least, someone who will tell them more about this gateway between life and death. Begrudgingly, Lief joins them on their journey to the home of Mary Hightower, who could be called the mother of all Afterlights. She makes her home in the Twin Towers of New York, which has also been caught in Everlost, along with her hundreds of children that she takes care of. When Nick, Allie, and Lief finally make it to the Twin Towers, they are welcomed and invited in by Mary. Lief is immediately drawn into a routine, repetitively doing the same things again and again, day after day, like so many of the other Afterlights. Nick is charmed by Mary. Allie, on other hand, is distrustful and wary of everything about Mary and what she stands for, and is perhaps even rightfully so. As a goal-oriented girl, she isn't going to allow herself to be satisfied with spending the rest of her existence uselessly doing the same thing. Against Mary's wishes, she leaves the Twin Towers to find out more about Everlost and its inhabitants—and what she discovers may just cause her to sink (both literally and figuratively). Shusterman does an amazing job of exploring what could happen in the afterlife. While most writings talk about the light at the end of the tunnel, he writes about what happens when you're knocked off course and don't get where you're going, and how a bunch of teenagers (because adults never seem to make it into Everlost) have created a world of their own. From monsters to skinjacking to seemingly harmless coins, Everlost is a beautifully intricate world that seems to have a mind of its own. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about life after death.

《永失》是《皮劫者三部曲》的第一部。 尼克和艾莉在车祸中丧生——至少,他们本该如此。他们本应飘向隧道尽头的光,然后在他们被认为合适的地方度过永恒。但他们偏离了轨道,反而来到了一个叫"永失"的世界。永失是当你没有到达该去的地方,又没有留在现世时所去的地方。碰巧这两个青少年就到了那里。当他们醒来时,一个名叫莱夫的小男孩迎接了他们,并向他们解释说,他们现在是"绿魂",也就是刚到这个中间世界的灵魂。莱夫向他们讲述了死点、重力疲劳以及为什么一直保持移动如此重要。 对于一直被困在永恒迷失之地不知多少年、渴望有玩伴的莱夫来说,这可真是不幸。尼克和艾莉却一心只想找到出路,或者至少找到能告诉他们更多关于生死之间这道门的人。莱夫虽不情愿,但还是加入了他们的旅程,前往玛丽·海特沃的家。她可以称得上是所有"永恒迷失者"的母亲。她在纽约的双子塔安家,那里也陷入了永恒迷失之地,还有她照顾的数百个孩子。当尼克、艾莉和莱夫终于抵达双子塔时,玛丽热情地欢迎并邀请他们进屋。 莱夫很快便陷入了一种常规模式,日复一日地重复着同样的事情,就像许多其他的"逝者"一样。尼克被玛丽迷住了。而艾莉则对玛丽的一切以及她所代表的东西都充满怀疑和警惕,也许她这样做也是理所当然的。作为一个目标明确的女孩,她不会让自己满足于在余生中毫无意义地重复同样的事情。尽管玛丽反对,她还是离开了双子塔,去探寻更多关于永恒迷失之地以及那里的居民的情况——而她所发现的可能会让她沉沦(无论是字面上还是比喻意义上)。 舒斯特曼出色地描绘了死后世界可能发生的一切。大多数作品都谈及隧道尽头的光芒,而他却写到了偏离正轨、未能抵达目的地的情况,以及一群青少年(因为成年人似乎永远无法进入"永失"世界)如何创造出了属于自己的世界。从怪物到"皮劫"再到看似无害的硬币,"永失"是一个美丽而错综复杂的世界,似乎有着自己的意志。我向所有想读关于死后世界故事的人推荐这本书。