Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you are a fan of vapid love stories with impossible standards, or a fan of Twilight, you'll probably squeal after reading Evermore. I am a fan of neither, and I"m finding this sudden glut of empty-headed, powerless female protagonists in YA pretty disturbing. While Noel's writing style flows, it's about the only thing to be commended. One would think the death of an entire family would make a teenager prioritize beyond the shallow culture of high school, but I sure as heck can't name a single hobby or aspiration in Ever's head. She never asks where any of the tulips come from, and while she doesn't like Damen's behavior, she never once reacts to him in a strong, assertive way. Apparently being immortal means you can be a larger jerk than usual. I was utterly miffed as to how Damen's yanking of Ever's emotional chains, "just to make sure she really cared" can be construed as anything but annoying at best and abusive at worst. Damen commits numerous sins of omission, and Ever somehow never decides she needs to pin him down. It's enough that he's mysterious, gorgeous, and into her. Except when he's not, and Ever BECOMES AN ALCOHOLIC. Don't worry though; it's just for over-the-top dramatic effect. She's promptly able to drop the bottle and leap back into his arms when he returns, without a backward glance at her addiction. Because real teenagers getting smashed on a regular basis are able to do that, right? Right. The explanations of the fantastical elements veer into the bizarre-leaps-of-logic territory pretty quick. I personally would have had more questions about the afterlife, but Ever simply nods her head like a good little girl. It would also be too much to ask that a devestating loss (such as that suffered by Ever) would make one more spiritual, or even more humanitarian. Heck, I would have even settled for a ethical dilemma on the nature of immortality, which this sort of series would lend itself to nicely. But instead, we're somehow supposed to believe that a 17-year-old making this badly informed of a decision is going to be happy with it at 30. (Or 300.) Good thing she didn't decide to get pregnant. This kind of reading, in which a female defers to the inordinately immature wisdom of a supernatural male, really shouldn't be so popular. I hope I'm the only one treating this kind of stuff with any seriousness, because I'd hate to think of anyone else taking relationship cues from voyueristic candy. That the author thinks this is how teenage girls behave in relationships, and that any of this is desirable: it gives the underlying message as You Suck. Because if you're relating to Ever, and cheering her on, you must be just like her. Vapid, shallow, and waiting to be told what to do by the nearest hot guy. It's a real shame that this is the next YA cash cow.