Foreverland Is Dead

By: Tony Bertauski

Narrated by: Linda Velwest

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Six teenage girls wake with no memories. One of them is in a brick mansion, her blonde hair as shiny as her shoes. The others are in a cabin, their names tagged to the inside of their pants. Their heads, shaved. Slashes mark the cabin wall like someone has been counting.

Hundreds of them. There's wilderness all around and one dead adult. The girls discover her body rotting somewhere in the trees. As the weeks pass, they band together to survive the cold, wondering where they are and how they got there. And why.

When an old man arrives with a teenage boy, the girls learn of a faraway island called Foreverland where dreams come true and anything is possible. But Foreverland is dead. In order to escape the wilderness, they'll have to understand where they are.

More importantly, who they are.

©2013 Tony Bertauski (P)2013 Tony Bertauski

Good Sequel

After reading Foreverland is Dead, I came to realize a few things about this Foreverland series. The first is that I really underrated the first book in the series, The Annihilation of Foreverland. The second is that I really, really, enjoyed the stories and they stayed with me for quite awhile after I finished the book. As such, I've gone back and upgraded my review of the first book and I give this book a solid 4 star review as well.

Plot: The boys were freed in the first book but what about the girls that appeared on the island? For them, it wasn't quite as simple and now six girls are trapped in a rugged mountain area, struggling to survive as cold sets in and their supplies dwindle. Even worse, they have no memories of who they are, scratches on the wall seem to indicate they have been there a long time, and they must deal with their personality conflicts that could tear them apart. Then an old man, Mr. Williams, and a catatonic boy, Sid, appear. Are those two the key to getting out of their prison or will they be the end of all the girls?

A sign of a good book is when I can't put it down - even to go to sleep in the early hours of the night. This was one of those books. Bertauski's stories draw you in quietly, without you realizing it, and then you are hooked and want to see the end to conclusion. He packs in plenty of mystery in the plot but it really is the characters that keep you reading. The style isn't flashy; rather, straightforward and to the point. It does read a bit YA due to giving away plot points quite easily and early. But somehow that also make it a more interesting read when he gives just enough doubt to the plot points.

Those who have read book one don't need to worry about this being a retread of the first book. Although key attributes are there (one bully kid, sacrifice, torment and trauma, one kid centered on reality and logic), the villain is at least not over the top this time and the circumstances of the girls are very different. There is a clever tie in to book one and, of course, the returning character of Mr. Williams and Sid.

In all, I look forward to more books in the series or the next book the author writes. This series has really surprised me at its depth and how invested I became in each story.

Note: I listened to the Audible version. Although ok, it was a bit flat.

A Great Story!

Six teenage girls wake with no memories. One of the girls wake in a brick mansion, her shoes as shiny as her blonde hair, while the others wake in a cabin, name tags on the inside of their pants and their heads shaved. They find hundred of slashes marked on the wall, wilderness all around them, and they find one dead adult. Wondering why and how they got there, they band together to survive the cold. One day this old man and a teenage boy arrives and tells them of a faraway island called Foreverland. The girls learn more about this place called Foreverland, they learn it's a place where dreams come true and anything is possible. Foreverland is dead though, before they can escape the wilderness, they'll all have to understand where they all are, but more importantly, who they all are.
Foreverland is the book that comes after The Annihilation of Foreverland. I rated the first story 5 stars. I must say that after listening to this story I wished I could give it 10 stars because I really loved it. I personally think this story was even better than the first book. I hate leaving spoilers so I try not to. I try to tell what I think about the author, a little about the story, and of course the narrator and leave it at that.

Author Tony Bertauski won me over with the first story but I feel this one was much better. I can tell he's a very talented author. Actually, the two books can be read as standalones, which is always a plus to me but I still recommend you read them in order. Tony creates a world of mystery, intrigue, and a world you could feel that could be real. There's fighting between the girls, turmoil, struggles to live, and struggling to survive. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, never bored, and it was breathtaking. Tony did a superb job, written to perfection, and he took me on a perfect ride. He blew me away and I found myself immersed and engrossed in this story. He has a new addition to these two stories called Ashes of Foreverland. I want to discover more of Tony's stories and see where he'll take me next. I highly recommend this story, it's a must read!

Linda Velwest is a talented narrator. I've listened to her narrate Spinner in the Sun and Jamais Vu and both were great and narrated perfectly. I must say that Linda outdone herself with her performance of Foreverland is Dead. Each girl has their own personality, different accents, and their own unique style. Linda doesn't seem to have any trouble at all with distinguishing each girl. She does a great job with al the female voices but an even better job with the male voices. She had me engrossed to the story and she pulled me in as if I was living inside the story myself.
I received this audio at no charge from the author/narrator in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Couldn't get through it.

I truly enjoyed "The Annihilation of Forever land" and was looking forward to the sequel. However the narration was so bad that I couldn't get through the first few chapters.
Now I'm going to buy it again on Amazon so I can read it for myself. I really don't like having to buy the same book twice.

Awesome!

Great second book in the series. I love books that bridge multiple genres and this sure does. Love everything about this series. Highly recommended.

One of the best I've read in quite a while

I was very pleased with this entire novel. The authors surrealistic style and imagination was amazing and held me captive to the very end where the twist left me gasping for air.

So much better that the first book

Although this is not a sequel this book is fantastic and felt like a great addition to the Foreverland series. What I did not enjoy about the first, I loved in this, mainly the characters and how they were introduced. I really enjoyed listening to this one as well where the first I felt like if I missed anything then I was in trouble. I wanted to hear every word of it since it was very intriguing and a bit mysterious! Both narrators for the books are fantastic though and I definitely recommend the listen if you do not prefer reading. I had a few audio issues with the first, however this one has been fabulous.

In this the story starts at a cabin with a few girls who have no memory of how they got there. They do find some food and my favorite of the bunch, Cyn, realizes that since they don't have a clue what is going on, then maybe they should ration the food. From the beginning I could tell that Cyn was fabulous. She is able to stand up to the bullies in the group and doesn't take much crap, even in this really weird environment.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed listening to this compared to the first. Although the first I considered good I just wasn't compelled to get to know the characters. I hung in because of the first narrator. The narrator in this, Linda Velwest, also did a fantastic job of helping me to stay focused and IN the story. There are many female characters and I was able to distinguish between them all. Kudos not only to the narration but also to Tony Bertauski who kept the gals very different from each other.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

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Wow!! Creepy Sequel

Where does Foreverland Is Dead rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed it, loads of detail and a really stunning twist. This book has true depth, after the first book I did not expect it to be quite so dark.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It is difficult to say because all the girls had very interesting elements. I was rooting for all of them.

What about Linda Velwest’s performance did you like?

She has a nice solid read throughout the book. I thought all of her voices were distinct and fit the characters. With so m many female voices to keep track of she does a great job of keeping them separate.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending blew my mind! This is something I have come to expect from this author. He has real skill in crafting worlds that bring a story to a new level.

Any additional comments?

When you are looking for a story that has detailed worlds, with flowing descriptions and a rich textured plot, you can not go wrong with Tony Bertauski.