Book Review: Last Bus To Everland by Sophie Cameron

 * I am reviewing this book which I was gifted for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. *

Title: Last Bus To Everland

Author: Sophie Cameron 

Publisher: My Kinda Book 

Source: Netgalley

(Bookshop UK| Hive| Goodreads | Storygraph)

Book Summary:

EVERLAND: AN ADDICTIVE MAGICAL PLACE WHERE YOU DO YOU.

Brody has had enough of real life. Enough of the bullies on his block, of being second best to his genius brother, and of not fitting in at school or at home. Until he meets Nico. Colourful, confident and flamboyant, Nico takes Brody to Everland, a diverse magical place. A place where he can be himself, where there are no rules, time doesn't pass, and the party never ends. You could lose yourself there forever...

Book Review:

Having loved Out Of The Blue by Sophie Cameron, I was super excited to read her newest book. Even though it took me a little longer than anticipated, I had a lovely time in the world of Everland and will continue to read Sophie Cameron's work in the future. 

Even though the book does have moments that are touching and you can get the warm feeling from many scenes from the book, these are often contrasted with Brody's home life. I think that the balance is well done and that both times, in Everland and home, are given their time to develop. That being said, Sophie Cameron touches on the reality for so many teenagers in the book. 

The stress of zero-hour contracts, feeling inadequate compared to a sibling, the feeling of being lost altogether and mental illness, agoraphobia is tackled in the book. While I cannot speak to my own experiences of the book, I do think that their inclusion was important and will help a lot of people and readers.

The book was also really diverse, Brody is gay and so is his brother as well as Everland being a point for a lot of different people globally. All these characters add to the story and give it more weight.

I really did like Everland and while at the beginning, I did think that they were going to stay at Everland for good, I liked the idea that they could come and go as it was more powerful as a story device. I also liked the world that was created and how it could act as this safe space for the characters. I'm sure there are a lot of people who want an Everland in real life and as an escape too. 

The characters were really great and I think that Sophie Cameron does a good job making them feel real. I loved Brody as the centre protagonist and seeing his progress throughout the novel was well-developed. I also really liked Nico and saw him as an equal for Brody but also for opposing what he wants. The book also gives us parents who do their best but are trying for their children which is often uncommon in YA. 

One of the main reasons why I picked this up now was because last year if the pandemic had not happened I wanted to go to Scotland. I loved reading about it, especially Edinburgh and hopefully, I will get to visit when the pandemic is over. 

Even though the last twenty per cent does offer a scary turn in the story, I think that this adds to the pacing of the story and adds more weight to the situation and to Brody. I don't know how to explain it but I still felt safe in the book and that nothing too bad was going to happen. This is a credit to Sophie Cameron's writing obviously. I also found it really fast-paced as I really wanted to know what happened to my faves.

I really loved the ending as it was so emotional and adds so much to the overall arc of the story. I also was just solely attached to the characters and I feel like all of them got the ending they deserved and needed. Brody especially, I loved that for him. The character development tho. 

As you can tell, I really loved Last Bus To Everland and highly recommend that reads this book if you feel like you just don't fit in.

The Verdict:

Last Bus To Everland is a book that captures the magic of escape but also finding out where you truly fit in. 

Have you read Last Bus To Everland? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below.