Reviews

Eden's Everdark by Karen Strong

ginggrr's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A beautiful exploration of the legacies of a mother who has died and of her family who has inherited the generational trauma of chattel slavery and reckoned with it through resistance and reclamation. The creepiness of the fantasy world is perfectly done for a middle-grade audience (and for adults who don’t like creepy or horror books) and deepens the exploration of the injustices of slavery, their effects, and the ways people respond to these, along with the consequences of those responses. Beautifully nuanced and hopeful in the end.  I loved Eden and would definitely love to see her again!

jnishi's review against another edition

4.0

Such an atmospheric read. It handled the weighty topic of loss and grief well. Intriguing and unique story and villain. Well written read.

katie1031's review against another edition

2.0

2.5
Not bad but wasn't necessarily for me. I didn't feel connected enough to the story or characters. The story didn't hold my focus the way I'd hoped. I had to really force myself to focus. I wanted to like this more. There are other stories not unlike this one that I would recommend instead for something looking for similar themes

jaydionne's review against another edition

4.0

4.5⭐️ This was so thrilling, for a middle grade read. Had my heart beating a little fast lol. I could so see this as a Disney channel movie from the late 90’s early 2000’s. I enjoyed it so much I sent my daughter a super long txt about it so she can read it next.

steff_braz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Read an ARC. The story is interesting and different, but it's for a younger audience and that made it slow and a little boring.

jackelz's review against another edition

“Gardener girls been full of magic ever since they come across the water. Same shine lives in you.”

Eden visits Safina Island, her ancestral home, as she is grieving the loss of her mother. Safina Island was such a special place, because its people reclaimed their land once they were freed. 

Eden discovers an old sketchbook that belonged to her mother, and she’s haunted by the images she sees drawn there. Then one day, she stumbles into Everdark.

Everdark is a parallel world where the sun never rises, where spirits linger between death and the afterlife, and where everything from her mother’s drawings is all too real. The details of the scenery were so vivid; I really felt transported into this world. 

I loved that everyone in Everdark came from a different, and tragic, part of history and had their own story. Each character was fleshed out really well. Netty was my favorite. 

When Netty said she couldn’t swim, I could just picture how she was looking at that pool. That part really broke me. Without saying much the author really conveyed a lot of emotion, and history, in such a short quote: “Don’t like that room,” Netty said, “Ain’t never learn to swim.”

This was a remarkable book. It was a truly unique look at grief and how hard it is to escape. I also loved the family aspects, and I would’ve loved spending even more time on the island learning from her ancestors. 

emeraldcitybookworm's review against another edition

I would describe this book as a pretty little nightmare. It gave me dark fairytale vibes. I appreciated that this MG novel explored Gullah culture, and navigates grief beautifully. I'd recommend this for readers who enjoyed Coraline and The Clackity.

Song I associated with this book:

breesharee's review against another edition

5.0

For a middle grade…creepy and I absolutely loved it

lilacs4b's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Slavery

principite's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0