Neverworld Wake

By: Marisha Pessl

Narrated by: Phoebe Strole

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

An absorbing psychological thriller in which fears are physical and memories come alive from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film.

"Beautifully creepy."—The New York Times

"You wont be able to stop reading."—Refinery29

"Dark and twisty."—Bustle

Five friends. Only one can survive. Who would you choose?

It's been one year since graduation, and Beatrice Hartley has mixed feelings about joining her friends a weekend reunion. She's right to be worried. After a night out, they narrowly avoid a collision with a car on a deserted road. Or so they believe...

Back at the mansion where they are staying, a mysterious man knocks on the door during a raging storm. He tells them that they must make a choice: one of them will live, and the rest will die. And the decision must be unanimous.

Soon time backbends. Beatrice and her friends are forced to repeat that dreadful day so many times they lose count. With each replay, events twist and fears come alive in horrifying ways.

To escape, they have to vote. But how do you choose who to kill? And then how do you live with yourself? This nightmare, this nothingness . . . this is the Neverworld Wake.

From critically acclaimed, literary sensation, Marisha Pessl, comes a spellbinding story that is "the kind of book you'll tear through and then want to talk about with everyone you know." (Nylon).

©2018 Marisha Pessl (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year 

"Neverworld Wake is a shape-shifting binge read . . . It's a 'clear your calendar' kind of one-day read."—Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel World

"An altogether eerie, philosophically challenging exploration of the ways in which our actions have consequences . . . the kind of book you'll tear through and then want to talk about with everyone you know immediately after finishing."—Nylon

"The first must-read of beach season."—Town & Country

for YA fans only

tedious rich children with issues. if that's your thing, this is that, if not skip.

And again....

I thought Pessl could do no wrong, but I was wrong. This is a young adult novel, so perhaps they will like it better than I.

Pessl's trademark wordplay was absent from this book, so that was a disappointment, but also it was just plain boring. Sheesh. It was a sort of interesting idea, not totally original, but a unique take. (To explain it would be spoilers.)

Though not a long book, it felt endless. The first half was essentially the same day lived over and over again and not in an interesting way. Unfortunately, I chose this as a "long car ride" book, so we kept at it. I did want to find out what happened. The second half was definitely more interesting than the first, but in such a basic way - the good guy isn't really good, the mean girl isn't really a mean girl and she's doing it all for you, etc.

The mystery, once solved, was overly complex.

Just was not good.

(The narrator, however, was great.)

Haunting, addicting yarn that will keep you up all night

Could press stop. Groundhog Day meets Veronica Mars, intended in the best way possible. A great teen mystery, with a Groundhog Day twist that gives the characters a huge canvass on which to grow and figure out their complicated lives and the complications of life. Don’t be turned off by the YA designation, while this book would be great for teen readers (I imagine devouring this book as a kid again and again), a terrific, meaty and suspenseful tale with Pessl’s unique voice and trademark wit and turn of phrase. It may be PG-13, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable or compelling. Great performance, too, if you can (and should) forgive the narrator’s lamentable genteel southern accent. Get past it, and you’ll be rewarded!

Wonderful, engaging, and thought provoking

Marisha Pessl, business as usual. Everything I wanted and more. Every book she writes asks curious questions, lays out thought provoking observations, and always adds the perfect amount of mystery and intrigue in her genre blending story. Pessl has become a favorite author and she exceeded my expectations with this one. Not as outlandish as Special Topics and not as complex as Night Film, but thoroughly enjoyable with dynamic characters, fascinating plot twists and concepts, and a story about life and death and the relationships within them. The narrator does a wonderful job. Well done all around.

Good book, but not her greatest work.

I enjoyed this book. It deals with the afterlife and has several interesting ideas about what goes on after we die. I realize that this book is intended for a young adult audience but some parts of it felt a bit flat or unbelievable to me. I LOVE Marisha Peel's other books, especially Night Film, and this one just didn't quite reach that level for me but it was still an enjoyable read.

Really good YA novel

The story is compelling and interesting, well written, but has much more of a YA feel than I had expected. I loved Night Film by the same author, and would highly recommend it!

Loved this story!!

So different than anything I have read recently. Unique story with a great life message!!

Would recommend to everyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “‘It’s almost gone, look around’. If only someone had told me that before, about life…” This is perfect.
I had mixed feelings going into the end of the book, but I genuinely enjoyed it. The characters were hard to relate to, and Kip… Kip drove me nuts. But this book was exactly what it needed to be. And I love it for that. I love Marisha Pessl’s work, and this book was no exception. In the beginning I thought Jim’s death was a veiled side story, one that may not ever be talked about properly, but it wasn’t that at all. Realistically it was the reason for it all. All in all, I enjoyed this book, and though it had some points I didn’t love. I still rate it well and would recommend it to everyone.
Side note: I can’t help but wonder how good it could have been if it hadn’t been YA. Nothing against YA, I love it dearly. But I just wonder what dark spin could have gone on, and how much deeper the characters could have been, had it been geared more towards adults. Just a thought!

A rare talent

The third novel from Marisha Pessl is as transcendent as her first two. Wonderful. Thankfully the narration is as excellent as the text. Well done to all involved.

Loved it!

I was quickly drawn in! A great story: it was really inventive! I couldn't stop listening!