The Nevermoor Series #2

Morrigan didn’t like the sound of the Goal-Setting and Achieving Club for Highly Ambitious Youth, which met on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, and all day Sunday. But she thought she could probably get on board with Introverts Utterly Anonymous, which promised no meetings or gatherings of any sort, ever.

The second book in the Nevermoor series was as much of a pleasure to read as the first. With Morrigan now in the Wundrous Society and safe in the Free State (she’s actually there illegally, but now border security can’t touch her, a constant threat in the first book), she is able to explore her new world and new role more.

The promise of a family that beguiled Morrigan in the first book seemed to have been fulfilled by the end of that book, but now that her special ability has been revealed, she still has to prove that she is worthy of belonging with the rest of her unit. Little is known of Wundersmiths, and the only one in recent memory was Ezra Squall, a psychopath who sought to control Nevermoor, created monsters and murdered hundreds of people who stood against him. He has been banished to the Republic, but is still seen as a threat to the Free State, with numerous defences in place to stop him from returning. With no other knowledge of Wundersmiths, Morrigan’s companions in Unit 919 are scared of what she is capable of, a feeling shared by the Scholar Mistress who allows Morrigan to attend only one class – a distorted history class on the evils of various Wundersmiths over the last few centuries.

In the first book Morrigan had the support of her patron Jupiter North as she faced her trials. But in this story Jupiter is mostly absent, investigating the disappearance of Wundrous Society members. Morrigan still has her friend Hawthorne, but he is happy in his studies and can do little to help except defend her to the other members of the unit. So Morrigan is isolated as she negotiates her place in her new world.

This book is a little darker in tone than the first. I suspect this will be another similarity to the Harry Potter series, that Morrigan will age with her readers and face increasing darker and more adult problems as she grows and moves through the school, and learns to control her ability.

A highly recommended sequel. I look forward to further books in the series.