Nevermoor delighted me the entire time I was reading it. I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages to see what would happen next, as well as to keep exploring Townsend’s imaginative world. The plot is engaging and ties together several threads, including Morrigan’s quest to pass the tests to enter the Wundrous Society and her attempts to fit into her new home, as well as a more overarching plot about good vs. Her good points are nicely balanced by some realistic character flaws, such as occasionally doubting her own abilities or getting into spats with other children.

Morrigan herself is a spunky, determined protagonist whom readers will love to root for as she attempts to earn a coveted place in the exclusive Wundrous Society, a group of intrepid adventurers with unusual talents.

However, the book nicely balances this darkness with whimsy and laughter, and Morrigan eventually finds a place where she belongs. Sadly, a lot of people, perhaps including her own family, are not going to be overly distressed by her death. There’s a bit of darkness to the story, as Morrigan is a cursed child-both for herself because she’s doomed to die at the age of twelve and for her community because a simple look from her can bring bad luck down upon others. Nevermoor is one of those magical middle grade fantasies that draw you in from the first pages and never let you go. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.īut as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Goodreads: Nevermoor: The Trial of Morrigan Crow

The trials of morrigan crow series