'Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.' (Publication summary)
Number 1 on the Better Reading's Top 50 Kids Books 2023
'Queensland writer Jessica Townsend has continued her saga of success, taking three major gongs at the Australian Book Industry Awards for her debut novel Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Hachette Australia).'
'The following books each contain something unexpected.' (Introduction)
'Writers of fantasy fiction create not just characters and plots for their novels, they imagine whole new worlds. Worlds with unique geographies and climates; technologies and customs; and even, on occasion, languages ...
'In addition to these tangible elements, fantasy authors need to envision the moral framework that governs their created world and the values that underpin it. What principles will determine issues of right and wrong, of justice, of the exercise of power? Will their world operate within the boundaries of a belief system? Will myths and stories from the imagined world’s past (or from other, known worlds) influence the present?
'In Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend begins to reveal the world she has created for her debut series.'
'Why do some books simply take off while others, arguably better written languish on shelves? Nevermore appears to be the next Harry Potter, if we are to believe the press, falling into the first category.' (Introduction)
'Why do some books simply take off while others, arguably better written languish on shelves? Nevermore appears to be the next Harry Potter, if we are to believe the press, falling into the first category.' (Introduction)
'The following books each contain something unexpected.' (Introduction)
'Queensland writer Jessica Townsend has continued her saga of success, taking three major gongs at the Australian Book Industry Awards for her debut novel Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Hachette Australia).'
'Writers of fantasy fiction create not just characters and plots for their novels, they imagine whole new worlds. Worlds with unique geographies and climates; technologies and customs; and even, on occasion, languages ...
'In addition to these tangible elements, fantasy authors need to envision the moral framework that governs their created world and the values that underpin it. What principles will determine issues of right and wrong, of justice, of the exercise of power? Will their world operate within the boundaries of a belief system? Will myths and stories from the imagined world’s past (or from other, known worlds) influence the present?
'In Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend begins to reveal the world she has created for her debut series.'