My daughter and I read this one aloud together and it was such a good book. We can't wait for the second one and hope to read more of Jessica Townsend's work. She did such a wonderful job of tackling the subject of belief in oneself and trusting in others.

This was great. I really enjoyed the characters, the world, and the magic. The world building was very well done, and I loved the hotel! It was almost it's own character.

Morrigan Crow is a cursed child and as such, she knows that her next birthday is destined to be her last. But on the fated day, a strange man appears and wants to take her on as his apprentice in Nevermoor. But to stay there and remain safe from the Hunt of Smoke and Shadows, she'll have to pass 4 mysterious trials and join the Wundrous Society. Can she do it? Or will she have to return home and face her curse?

NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW by Jessica Townsend is a great story aimed at middle grade students. Part of the adventure will be reading this over 600 page book! I do think that lovers of fantasy and alternate worlds will enjoy Townsend's novel, particularly because it features a strong female protagonist. However, did I mention that it is long? In some ways, this felt like The Hunger Games for a younger, less violence prone audience. Kirkus says "Readers will feel as though Harry Potter is meeting Alice in Wonderland..."

Morrigan Crow is rejected by her family, rescued by Jupiter North (who possesses unique inventions and magical abilities) and transported to a strange city where she struggles with challenges set forth for joining the Wundrous Society. Yes, she is special (only nine of several hundred contestants will ultimately be accepted) and she is kind (forming bonds and aiding other contestants), but she is also a bit naïve and trouble-prone. NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW is a fun read set in an appealing fantasy world; sequels are very likely.

This tale, filled with humor and brave exploits, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.

Move over, Harry, because there's a new magical world coming to town, and it's about to get real. 

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up a review copy of Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. I certainly didn't expect to fall in love, which is precisely what happened when I got sucked into this whimsical, magical world. 

Morrigan Crow is doomed to die on her eleventh birthday. But when she gets an invitation to compete for a spot in an elite society, her life changes forever. 

I'm a big fan of competitions in books, especially when they're  magical in nature. I recently finished re-reading V. E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows and while this book is definitely geared towards a younger audience and the trials are wildly different (and very unique) it still reminded me of the Essen Tach element games in that world. Since I'm a huge fan of such things, I was hooked on this premise. 

This book will keep you guessing. I loved not knowing what was going to happen when I turned a page. It kept me racing through the book at a breakneck pace, and now I'm just dying to get my hands on the sequel ASAP. There had better be a sequel. That's all I'm saying. 

Jessica Townsend proves here that there is still plenty of magical universes to go around. This just might be the next generation's Harry Potter. I certainly won't be surprised if it is. If that doesn't make you want to pick up this book, nothing will. 

So, seriously, go. Get this book for every reader on your Christmas List. They'll thank you later. 

Rating: 5/5 stars

Both thematically and stylistically, this novel is reminiscent of Harry Potter and Doctor Who. It has the magic and wonder, the looming evil force and promise of a better life for an undervalued child, the hallmarks of Harry Potter. It has the mischief, the wildness, the sometimes sheer lunacy of Doctor Who. And it does credit to both of these monolith, largely because it doesn't rely too heavily on the parallels. It has room to tell it's own story. Townsend has created a complex world with rules of magic and the promise of great future complications. It's exciting and funny with tight prose and realistic characters.

This feels like a lighter, more joyful and female version of Harry Potter. Perpetually cursed Morrigan Crow is less than beloved by her father and stepmother, plus doomed to die on her 11th birthday. Instead, a strange man whisks her away and tells her that she belongs in the Wondrous Society in Nevemoor, but she will have to prove it.

Despite its length, this was one of the fastest and most enjoyable reads of my year. Morrigan and her new Nevermoor friends are the family many of us would love to have. Absolutely recommend this to anyone.

I kept seeing this book all over the place in the library journals that I subscribe to. I just loved the cover and the premise of the story intrigued me. I was thrilled when I got an e-galley for it, and I was not disappointed. This is such a wonderful story full of quirky characters and a new magical world to get caught up in. And that cover, who wouldn’t want to pick it up and take a look inside.

Poor Morrigan, you can’t help but feel sorry for her at the start of the book. It is very obvious that no one in her family really cares about her and she has no friends because of her curse. She is resigned to her fate even though she isn’t very happy about it. But once she arrives in Nevermoor and things start to look up for her you can see how resilient she is. She is also very resourceful and kind brave, but she can still have doubts about herself. The perfect heroine for this age group. Her friendship with Hawthorne, a dragon rider, is also fun to watch develop from a chance encounter to something magnificent.

Jupiter North is a fascinating character and a good mentor and father figure to Morrigan, even though he doesn’t give her all of the facts about the trials or her knack (talent). His Hotel is a marvelous place that is always changing depending on it’s mood and the moods of it’s residents. Jupiter is obviously a very well repected member of the Wundrous Society and is away on business most days. But the times he spends with Morrigan are special and often magical

There are lots of quirky characters that populate Nevermoor and many of them have a quirky talent of some sort. These talents are not necessarily magical, but special never the less. There are also some fun creatures like Fen, the magnificat, who helps run Jupiter’s hotel in Nevermoor.

The trials that Morrigan and Hawthorne have to endure to get into the Wundrous Society were interesting and scary at times. It was fun to watch them go through these trials and achieve success. The last trial where they have to show off their knack was the most interesting. Morrigan witnessed some interesting knacks. Morrigan’s own knack is finally revealed at this trial and even though I had guessed what it was before the big reveal, I’m not sure many kids will have figured it out.

Overall a great read that I highly recommend. It is full of quirky characters and some fun adventures. I hope to see a lot more of Nevermoor in the future.

Love the premise: An "unlucky" child blamed for everyone's misfortunes has a chance for redemption if she is victorious in a competition that will give her a place in the prestigious Wundrous Society. This has the promise of becoming the next big series. The only problem is we have to wait until the next installment. Hurry it along, Ms. Townsend!

I've seen blurbs saying that fans of Harry Potter or The Mysterious Benedict Society would like this, and I can see where they are coming from in that recommendation. I would add the Charlie Bone series, since it also deals with children who are talented and recruited or trained. The idea of cursed children who are born on a certain day and always die before their twelfth birthday is very sad, and readers may have a hard time imagining how one of those children could even try to enjoy their life knowing when it would end. Morrigan is one of those children, but she is saved at the last minute and whisked off to Nevermoor. There, her patron Jupiter North enters her in the trials to become a member of the Wundrous Society. There are nearly 500 candidates, which are slowly eliminated from the competition as each trial comes. By the end of the year, only 9 will be given membership into the Society, and Morrigan is convinced that she will not be one of them.

As readers, we get to experience all the amazement that Morrigan feels as she enters Nevermoor and takes up residence in the Hotel Deucalion. The hotel itself is amazing and magical; for instance, Morrigan's room changes as it gets to know her and adds details to make it feel like home. There is the Brolly Rail where commuters hang onto loops with their umbrellas and then jump off at their stop and float down to the ground with their umbrella acting as a sort of parachute, and don't even get me started on the duel between Father Christmas and the Queen of Yule on Christmas Eve. There are vampire dwarves (at least one), large talking cats, and tons of other odd and exotic creatures. And there is also the Wundersmith that some people say was banished 100 years ago, but may still be causing trouble in Nevermoor, along with the mysterious Mr. Jones who turns up in unexpected places and keeps telling Morrigan that his employer will take her as an apprentice if she decides to change patrons.

Middle grade readers who enjoy tales of fantasy and magical realms should definitely try out the Nevermoor series, beginning with this first book.

Morrigan is a cursed child, so everything bad that happens is blamed on her. That doesn't matter, though, because she will die on her twelfth birthday and everyone will be rid of her, including the family that only grudgingly acknowledges her existence. However, on Morrigan's 11th birthday, two unexpected things happen: death comes for her and she is rescued by a strange man from Nevermoor and invited to join the trials for entrance to the Wundrous Society. Morrigan revels in this new world where she isn't thought of as cursed and where strange, magical things occur every day, but what will happen if she doesn't pass the trials?

This is an excellent fantasy story a la Harry Potter, and one that I will easily and readily recommend to the middle grade readers in my library. My only quibble is that it is just the first book in the series and the rest haven't been written yet, so I can't read the second one at the moment.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: mild fantasy violence
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Iron Trial

What an amazing book! I love the moxie Morrigan and her friend Hawthorne show in the face of all that the Wunder Trials throw at them. Morrigan is born a Cursed child, doomed to die before she can even grow up, and blamed for any ill that befalls people in her vicinity, but she doesn't let that hold her back. So when Jupiter North offers Morrigan the chance to escape her supposed destiny, she has nothing holding her back. The book is filled with hope and balanced optimism without feeling pollyanna-ish. All of the comparisons drawn to Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, and Doctor Who are well deserved - kids could build a life around Nevermoor! I will absolutely be buying this book for my library.

Morrigan Crow is not exactly what she seems, she is not your typical eleven year old, she is cursed, or is she? Everyone in her town thinks she is, including her family and that means that on eventide she will die, as all cursed children do. But her eventide is very peculiar, especially when the stranger shows up, Jupiter North, and takes her away to his town, illegally I might add and their adventures are just beginning there.

This is a awesome book full of adventure, suspense, and more twists than a roller coaster. This book is only slightly reminiscent of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, but if you are a fan of those chances are you would like this especially if you are team Hermione or team Annabeth. The wondrous made up world of the free states reminds me of something out of Willy Wonka with its brolly rail and the smoking room (you don't actually smoke in it), and who can forget the mean old Wondersmith? This really is a book you won't want to put down.