Everlost

“The worst part about it was that no matter how much time passed, you always remembered how many things you’d forgotten.”

One detrimental element of living in Everlost is the spirits’ eventual loss of memory. Nick and Allie discover that this occurs quickly, and it also explains why Lief doesn’t know his name. This memory loss also explains why some children start shifting in appearance. This shift symbolizes that they are forgetting their self-image and must work harder to remember what they look like. Sadly, while the children might forget a lot of memories and information, they don’t forget the fact that they have indeed lost their memories and this knowledge of lacking knowledge adds a sense of irony and tragedy to the inhabitants of Everlost.

“They might leave now, but once they saw what the rest of the world was like, they would come back to him, and he would build them their own platforms in the tree and talk and talk to make up for all the years Lief had existed in silence.”

Lief has been alone in his forest for over a hundred years and is thrilled to finally have friends. However, Allie and Nick want to go home, and Lief becomes hurt and angry that they want to leave him so soon. He hopes they will see what Everlost is like compared to his forest and will return, although he knows it’s unlikely. In this passage, Lief’s desperate desire for his new friends to stay emphasizes the depths of his loneliness and long solitude and introduces the timeless nature of Everlost itself.

“‘This isn’t the afterlife,’ he said. ‘We never made it to the afterlife. This is kind of an interlife. A space between life and death.’”

Nick is the first to notice that Everlost can’t be a form of afterlife because it doesn’t fit what he’s learned that an afterlife should look and feel like. When he makes this statement to Allie, her pragmatic nature assures her that they can find answers to their problem and return home to their families. Although Allie views Nick’s observation as pessimistic, this section also makes it clear that Nick is more discerning and aware of his surroundings than she is, for he asks questions that she has not yet thought to consider.

“I’ve been waiting forever for you to come. I prayed for you, did you know that? God hears our prayers here. Maybe even better than before, because we’re closer to him here. […] Please don’t go.”

When Nick and Allie decide to go to New Jersey to find Allie’s family, Lief desperately tries to keep them in the forest with him. He’s been alone for a long time, so this statement highlights his desperate need for companionship and establishes that the world of the dead is nonetheless full of people who still contain a strong sense of what it means to live: friends, company, and the natural rhythms that make life worth living. Lief’s statement also references religion, a topic that occasionally comes up in the novel.

“She took the name Mary because it seemed a proper, motherly name. True, she was only fifteen, but had she lived, she would most certainly have become a mother. And anyway, she was a mother to those who needed one—and there were many.”

This passage demonstrates the Afterlights’ loss of memory and how most forget their names and are forced to find a new sense of self beyond the boundaries of their old lives. Thus, although Mary has forgotten her original name, she chooses a new name that fits her personality and her larger goals within Everlost. Her vision of herself as a mother figure to New York’s Afterlights causes her to choose a name that reflects that position and demonstrates her maturity and willingness to fulfill that role.

“‘He made it somewhere,’ Allie said, ‘which is more than I can say for us. It’s like Lief said—everyone else in the accident either survived or got where they were going—which means that either way they’re sort of ok.’”

One of Nick and Allie’s major concerns after waking up in Everlost is the need to know what has happened to their other family members, some of whom were also in the collision. After discussing this with Lief, Allie feels comforted by the knowledge that only kids come to Everlost. Because her father was the only other person in the car, she knows he either survived or got to the afterlife instead of being stuck in limbo like she is. Nick isn’t as reassured, especially since his entire family was in the Mercedes with him. This initial preoccupation with what happened in the world of the living immediately after their demise highlights the common concept of “unfinished business” for those whose deaths are sudden.

“Allie smiled. After all these years Lief had left his forest for them. It could not have been a choice he made lightly, and so she vowed to herself that from this moment on, she would look out for him in any way she could.”

This passage exemplifies the novel’s theme of Friendship and Loyalty. Although Lief is afraid to leave the safety of his forest, especially since he’s lived there alone for so long, his care and concern for his new friends outweigh his fears, so Lief leaves the forest and saves Allie from sinking to the center of the Earth. This passage also foreshadows that Allie will experience great conflict as she attempts to keep her promise and safeguard her brother and her friend throughout the story.

“It can be said, then, that Everlost is heaven. Perhaps not for people, but for the places that deserve a share of forever.”

One aspect of Neal Shusterman’s world-building is the inclusion of noteworthy places taken from real-world historical events, the most striking example of which is his bold decision to invoke the Twin Towers in Manhattan, paying tribute to them and all those lost during the tragic attack on 9/11. Shusterman’s respect for the Twin Towers and other places and objects thus lends his chosen settings a powerful emotional impact beyond the boundaries of the novel itself.

“‘A good idea,’ she answered. ‘But we can’t choose what we forget. The more we try to forget something, the more we end up remembering it. Careful, or your whole face will get covered in chocolate.’”

When Nick meets Mary, he immediately becomes infatuated with her and self-conscious of the melted chocolate permanently stuck to his face. This passage is Mary’s response to Nick’s suggestion that he forget that the chocolate is there. As she shows, Afterlights are susceptible to losing memories—and quite quickly, as Nick discovers when he struggles to remember his name after arriving in New York—but they have little control over what they do and don’t forget.

“What Nick didn’t realize was that Vari had been nine for 146 years. Little-kid emotions do not sit well after a century and a half. If Nick had realized that, things might have gone differently.”

The novel’s characters are much more complex than they appear on the surface. Much of this dynamic results from the clash between their outward appearance and their internal experiences of having existed for so long in the world of Everlost. For example, although the Haunter was six when he died, his yellowish glow proves that he is far older, and his sinister behavior is likewise far beyond what any six-year-old would display. Similarly, Vari has a nine-year-old body, yet he is far smarter and more experienced than Nick: an “adult” of Everlost, as it were.

“Only now did he notice it was daylight. Hadn’t he started this at dusk? Had he been doing this all night? Nick was speechless. He had no idea how this had happened. It was as if he were in a trance, broken only by Allie’s arrival. The weird thing about it was that a part of him wanted to throw her out, and get back to his work. His important work. Nick, Nicky, Nicholas.”

As Allie discovers, the children in Everlost have a routine that they adhere to without deviation. Nick, Allie, and Lief believe they won’t find themselves in this situation, yet within days of being in New York, Nick unconsciously shreds paper and writes his name on it for hours. This incident demonstrates how quickly the Everlost children get into a rut and how difficult it is for them to recognize and stop it.

“‘It’s not a niche,’ said Allie, ‘it’s a rut. Mary might think it’s a good thing, but it’s not.’ Allie knew now that in the same way water always seeks its lowest point, so do the souls of Everlost—carving a rut that becomes a ditch, that becomes a canyon—and the deeper it gets, the harder it is to escape from. Allie knew it, just as she knew that Lief, if left alone, would play this game until the end of time.”

Allie continues the discussion of ruts and how harmful they are for the children. Once a child gets in a rut, they have a tough time getting out of it, especially if they’ve been in that routine for a long time. These ruts also explain why the children remain stuck in Everlost and no longer question Mary or seek to leave, as Allie does. Thus, Allie must fight to keep herself and her friends out of these ruts so they can continue finding a way out of Everlost and into the afterlife.

“The going was slow, because it seemed every single city block had a Chinese restaurant, and Johnnie-O was making them cross the street, or turning down side streets again and again to avoid them. ‘This is ridiculous,’ Allie said. ‘Chow mein does not carry the plague.’ The next time, she refused to cross the street, and walked right in front of Wan Foo’s Mandarin Emporium.”

This passage demonstrates that Afterlights still have superstitions that control their behavior, and it also serves to illustrate how much power Mary Hightower wields due to the superstitions she perpetuates about the evils of fortune cookies in her books. Allie is the first character to challenge Mary’s authority by showing Johnnie-O and the Altar Boys that walking in front of a Chinese restaurant does no harm. This action also earns the boys’ respect when she does something they’re too afraid to do.

“In truth, the death of the Sulphur Queen was extremely bizarre, but not exactly supernatural. Stated simply, the Sulphur Queen was overcome by a very large ocean fart.”

This passage demonstrates Shusterman’s sense of humor and how he incorporates moments of absurdity to leaven the largely serious subject matter of his novels. Similarly, this oblique reference to the mysterious Bermuda Triangle also illustrates his ongoing trend of utilizing real-life historical events and objects to enrich his plot and encourage interest in learning more about the real versions.

“[Allie] wasn’t going to let this beast see her fear the way she had let the Haunter see it. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that monsters only had the power that you gave them.”

When Allie meets the McGill, she hides her fear of him until the monster learns of her betrayal. When Allie finally does show fear, the McGill is discomforted by it, a fact that demonstrates the deeper relationship that has unexpectedly developed between the two characters. This passage also demonstrates that Allie adapts and learns from her experiences, a key characteristic that helps her survive.

“Simply stated, the act of chiming was to hang someone upside down from their ankles by a long chain, or rope. It didn’t actually hurt the spirit being chimed, but it was a pretty dull way to spend one’s days, and if boredom was the closest thing to suffering that the McGill could inflict, he would have to live with that.”

At the novel’s beginning, Lief describes the McGill as the most feared monster in Everlost who makes Afterlights suffer. Because Afterlights can’t feel pain, the McGill tortures them through boredom. This shows how despicable the McGill is and how he must want others to suffer. It also makes the reader question why the monster is so cruel and what could have happened to him to make him so horrible.

“Either way, she knew she’d have to make a quick escape when it was all over, because when the McGill finally figured out that he was being duped, his fury would reverberate through all of Everlost.”

This passage foreshadows the McGill’s reaction to Allie’s betrayal toward the novel’s conclusion when he realizes her 12-step program is a lie. It also demonstrates how much Allie has gotten to know the McGill and his behavior and how accurately she can anticipate his reactions and manipulate his behavior to serve her own ends. However, this statement makes the McGill’s forgiveness more satisfying and further illustrates the significant shift he makes in character as he changes from the McGill back to Mikey.

“The moment she saw him, he recognized the look of fear in her eyes. It was the first time he had seen her show fear since arriving on the ship. At first it had troubled the McGill that she seemed unafraid of him, but now, he found himself troubled by the fact that she was. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. This new sensitivity in himself was deeply disturbing.”

The McGill and Allie develop a strong bond throughout their time on the Sulphur Queen. This passage illustrates how the McGill wants Allie to see him, which is without fear. This starkly contrasts how he presents himself to others, as he seeks to be as repulsive as possible to everyone except Allie. This is also a turning point that helps the McGill transform back into Mikey and forgive Allie.

“In fact everyone was chatting; those who remembered their names were introducing themselves. This was more life than any of these kids had shown for years.”

The McGill imprisons the kidnapped Afterlights as a means of torture, but because Nick forces them to entangle themselves and get into a new position, the Afterlights see different people and wake from their prolonged numbness. This event illustrates Nick’s positive influence on the Afterlights and how he can help them get where they’re going, for he literally forces change upon them in order to break them free of their torpor and encourage them to improve their situation—a trend that he eventually accelerates into a full-blown quest of his own to urge as many Afterlights as possible to accept coins and enter the light.

“The living world was as insubstantial to him as beams of light from a movie projector, and the living themselves were like the movie on the screen; only important if he chose to watch. He could see how Mary had come to see Everlost as the real world. The true world. It would be easy to trick himself into believing the same thing—but did he want to do that?”

As Nick returns to New York to ask for Mary’s help, he experiences a profound change in perspective and realizes that Everlost is not the end of a person’s existence. When he first meets Mary, he willingly believes everything she does and says. Now, however, he begins to question her understanding of Everlost and the function it serves. This marks a turning point for Nick, for he can now think actively for himself and better understand his purpose.

“When Everlost eyes looked upon Atlantic City’s sandy shore, the two dead piers stood apart, just as the two lost towers stood apart from the skyline of New York, like grand beacons of eternity.”

This passage helps demonstrate Shusterman’s world-building and how Everlost is superimposed upon the living world. When Afterlights look at Atlantic City, they see both living structures and those that have crossed into Everlost. This example also demonstrates how Shusterman honors historical places by allowing them immortality in a world where the Afterlights will never forget them.

“It didn’t matter that the living world had moved on without him, or that anyone he knew would be long dead—he barely remembered any of them anyway. Once his spirit was housed in a living body again, he would adapt to this twenty-first century, reclaiming the right to grow, and grow old—a right that death had denied him.”

Shusterman doesn’t explicitly clarify why Mikey turns into a monster and terrorizes Afterlights. This passage, however, taps into the McGill’s motivation and shows that he feels his death is an injustice that has robbed him of life. Therefore, he believes the fortune cookie and thinks exchanging 1,000 Afterlights will give him his life back. This idea reflects the tragedy behind each child’s death and makes readers sympathetic to Mikey, who never got to experience all that life has to offer.

“Then, in the blink of an eye, and in a rainbow twinkling of light, Travis, also known as Lief of the Dead Forest, finally got where he was going.”

Lief grows and changes the most out of any character in Everlost. He demonstrates his growth in how well he can adapt to every situation. Regardless of circumstances, Lief finds peace and accepts his reality. Once Nick learns the truth behind the coins and how they help souls pass from Everlost to the afterlife, Lief can finally move into the light. He has matured and grown, unlike Nick, who isn’t yet ready to get where he’s going.