Happily Ever Endings... Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Happily Ever Endings... was born out of sheer frustration. You know how when you read a series and you love it but the last book takes a little while to come out and then you sort of forget parts of the novel? That's what these posts are going to serve to remedy. Happily Ever Ending... is a short post about what happened at the ending of each book that is going to be in a series for people who need a quick reminder of what happened in the previous installment. I hope this saves someone else the frustration that I went through!

Everlost (Skinjackers #1) by Neal Shusterman

Nick and Allie don't survive the car accident...but their souls don't exactly get where they're supposed to get either. Instead, they're caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It's a magical yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth. 

When they find Mary, the self-proclaimed queen of lost kids, Nick feels like he's found a home. But Allie isn't satisfied spending eternity between worlds. Against all warnings, Allie begins learning the "Criminal Art" of haunting and ventures into dangerous territory, where a monster called the McGill threatens all the souls of Everlost. 

In this imaginative novel, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.

Click "Read more" to see the ending of Everlost (Skinjackers #1) so that you are ready for Everwild.

The McGill goes to the two piers in Atlantic where he was once defeated, sure that he is about to reap the reward of becoming living again after fulfilling his fortune cookie. He sends a recently chimed Allie out into the piers but little does he know that it was actually Allie who found a typewriter and types up the fortune in the fortune cookie to bring him here. She believes the gang of kids who defeated him once will do it again but it becomes apparent that they are no longer there. The McGill brings all 1,000 of his chimed souls to shore and shouts for his reward. A giant plane lands and he believes it is the Gods or angels ready to grant him a living body.

It is actually Nick who has convinced Mary to help him fight The McGill. Mary reveal that The McGill is actually her brother who had sunk to the bottom of the earth and clawed his way out. Facing his own self in a picture Mary keeps makes his altered image change back into the 14 year old boy he was. The kids he had captured try to push him into the earth. Allie and Nick part ways amicably, Nick going with Mary who is taking the 1,000 lost souls and Allie to head to her house.

The McGill, now known as Mikey, grabs an Everlost horse and starts to ride for Allie. Allie skinjacks a jogger and tries to drive a car but can't manage it. They get into a crash after the jogging girl fights back and Allie is thrown from the vehicle and into the water where she starts to sink. Then Mikey grabs her and helps her up because he respects her. Together, they decide to linger in Everlost and Mikey wants to do good deeds for all the bad ones he did as The McGill.

Nick helps Mary load the souls onto the ship but finds it odd that she has him hold the coins. He gives one to Leif who says it's hot before disappearing. He got where he was going. So Nick goes around and gives everyone coins. Then he confronts Mary about her telling people not to keep them and they argue. She wants people to stay and he thinks they should have the choice. He races Mary to The Twin Towers and gets her kids to get their coins back and most get where they are going. The novel ends with a little girl seeing Mary who asks her to come onto her ship. Mary says that all the girl must do is give her her coin or else The Chocolate Ogre (Nick) will get her. Mary is now re-building her queendom.

Did I miss something important? Please let me know in the comments!