Evernight (novel)

Evernight

Author	Claudia Gray
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Evernight series
Genre	Young adult, Fantasy, Gothic
Publisher	HarperTeen
Publication date	May 27, 2008
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	336
ISBN	978-0-06-128444-1
Followed by	Stargazer

Evernight is a 2008 fiction young adult novel by Claudia Gray. It is the first novel in the Evernight series. It is followed by Stargazer, released March 24, 2009; Hourglass, released March 15, 2010; and the final installment Afterlife, released March 3, 2011. Another book in the series, Balthazar, features one of the main characters, Balthazar. This series is recommended to people between the ages of 14 to 18.

Summary

Bianca Olivier is a new student to Evernight Academy, a Gothic boarding school with "perfect" but predatory students. She knows she does not belong but she cannot escape because her parents are now teachers at the school. Bianca believes the best of her parents and trusts them about everything even when her brain tells her not to.

As school progresses, Bianca befriends Lucas, Raquel, a loner like her, and Vic, Lucas's roommate. She develops enemies, like Courtney and Erich, who are what Bianca calls "The Evernight Type". At a party, she befriends a handsome, popular, but friendly guy, Balthazar More.

Balthazar asks her to the Autumn Ball. There, she, Lucas and Balthazar get into an argument, and Balthazar leaves them alone. Outside, under the gazebo, she and Lucas kiss for the first time. Bianca gives in to temptation, bites Lucas and drinks his blood. After she realizes what she did, she screams for help. Upon hearing, Courtney comes out and says "Well, it's about time you became a vampire like the rest of us."

When Lucas awakens he is unable to remember the event. Lucas and Bianca declare their love for each other. Lucas eventually discovers Bianca is a vampire, but she is a child of two vampires and he accepts this.

After they have been officially dating for weeks, Bianca mentions that one of Lucas's ancestors went to Evernight, but no humans have ever been accepted to the school before, except a Black Cross member (a group of elite vampire hunters). Her parents and Balthazar realize this and attack, but Lucas holds his own against two vampires and they chase him off campus. Bianca runs off with him, and even though he has been raised to hate all vampires, he still loves Bianca. They meet up with the rest of his team, and the Black Cross think that she is a stolen baby, hiding the truth she is a vampire.

Bianca's parents turn up and take her back home because they do not understand. She reluctantly goes with them. A few days later she receives a letter through Vic from Lucas telling her that he will always love her and they will meet again.

Reception

School Library Journal wrote: “Gray’s writing hooks readers from the first page and reels them in with surprising plot twists and turns, and the open ending will keep them guessing and waiting on the edge of their seats for the next book in the series. A must-have for fans of vampire stories by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Stephenie Meyer, and the like.” regarding the initial installment of the series. L.J. Smith wrote, "Once I picked Evernight up, I couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait for Claudia Gray’s next book!"^[1]

Romantic times bookclub wrote that Evernight was a "Teenage love, ancient hatred and a Romeo and Juliet-style feud fuel the fires in this compelling first-person drama." Booklist wrote that Evernight was something that "Stephenie Meyer fans will find similar rewards in the flashes of humor; the terrifying battle between ancient, supernatural societies; and the steamy romance in which love bites aren’t just a euphemism."^[2]

Kirkus Reviews was critical of the book commenting "The problem is Bianca’s first-person narration. Why does she hide her vampirism from the reader for half the book? The mysterious foreshadowing and hints about “Evernight type” students seem disingenuous at best once readers realize Bianca knew everything all along. Thin characterization, a need to state the obvious and constant iteration of Lucas’s name quickly grow old." However, despite the criticism, the Kirkus had some positive feedback: "Some fun details (a modern technology class where vampires learn to use iPods), the inexorable clash between the vampires and their Black Cross hunters and the open question of what will happen next make this enjoyable enough, particularly for fans of that other vampire series who need something to read while they wait for Breaking Dawn" ^[3] Stargazer received a rating of 3.91 on Goodreads.com.^[4]

References