Enter the Enchanted

Everworld #3

by K.A. Applegate

There is a place that shouldn’t exist. But does. And there are creatures that shouldn’t exist. But do. Welcome to a land where all of your dreams and nightmares are very real—and often deadly. Welcome to Everworld.

Jalil, David, April, and Chris still haven’t found Senna. They still haven’t found their way out of Everworld. And—though they have managed to stay alive—things are starting to get worse. Because Jalil and the others are about to encounter one of the most powerful of Everworld inhabitants. He is called Merlin.

Merlin is the unseen force behind much of what happens in Everworld. And there is a good chance he knows where to find Senna. But he has his own agenda. And it doesn’t necessarily include helping Jalil and the others. Now, they’re about to discover what happens when you mess with Merlin…

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Urban Fantasy

169 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

also published under the name Katherine Applegate

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-packed adventure in the middle of an Arthurian legend setting. April’s not the most interesting point of view but she does stand out in her own way. Merlin’s properly introduced here, which is interesting as he does have a role to play in the bigger picture.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhhhh, finally I feel like this series is hitting its stride! April's internal voice doesn't stand out as much as the cast did in Animorphs -- I, also, thought this book was narrated by Jalil at first, until I remembered it was the Arthurian book. But this was one of my favourites of the series and that I remembered best, mainly due to pre-teen/early teen Julie's ENORMOUS HORRENDOUS CRUSH ON GALAHAD. Like, straight-up, I was in love with him and shipped Galahad/April SO SO SO MUCH and was fucking heartbroken when he died; I would keep rereading his death scene over and over, like poking at my own wound just to see how it was healing.

I also think the character dynamics are getting even more depth now, the group both tearing into each other and finally starting to offer real comfort to one another by the end. And I love it for April's observations on each of her boys, and her relationships with each of them:
- I sort of ship her and Christopher a little -- he seems to have a weird quiet attachment to her, a vested interest in her well-being that he doesn't want to articulate,
- She's admiring of David in a way where she's just like, fondly aware of all his idiocy, and I could also see her wanting what her half-sister has,
- Her and Jalil's mutual respect and her trust of him and him checking in on her is so fantastic,
- and APRIL/GALAHAD. Sorry, I just had to mention it one more time. He's so great. Basically apparently I ship April with everyone, mostly because she is AWESOME.

(I can't believe that there's only two Christopher/April fics on AO3, and only one Jalil/April, and the rest is overwhelmingly dominated by David/Christopher. No, wait -- I guess I am entirely unsurprised tbh, considering they're two white boys who are also rivals. SIGH.)

ANYWAY. Enter the Enchanted! I love Arthuriana, and Merlin. This book is also important because a) you get to see a lot more of Senna, and so she's less of a cipher, more of a real girl -- still a witch, still powerful, but you start seeing the cracks in the facade, her weaknesses and fragilities and attempts to keep this situation under control but she's out of her depth, and b) there's direction. By the end, they finally come up with a plan and an idea of how they want to tackle Everworld. They're starting to cohere as a group and to know each other, which is wonderful to see. There's an overarching storyline & narrative thrust is emerging.

The book also deals with the dividing lines between myth & reality, our collective myths made reality in the form of Arthurian legend and Galahad's muddled memories. It's a theme that's near and dear to my heart, considering things like American Gods or Terry Pratchett's Discworld: the effect of collective belief essentially bringing a man to life. Galahad's awareness of his own half-real status is a little touching, a little sad; he knows his own existence is in question, and it shakes him, but he still perseveres.

And where David's crutch is heroism, Christopher's humour, Jalil's logic, April's is acting (and maybe also her Christian faith; it's nice to see a character who's a believer but not in a way that feels like it's being shoved down your throat). She puts on different roles to fit the situation, and taps into past acting experience to try to get by in Everworld. Getting into her head, you get the impression that she isn't quite so cool and calm and resourceful as she appears, but she's such a good actress that the others can't quite tell.

Yet by the end, she's also run-down and ragged and tired of wrestling the boys' testosterone blowups, and understandably so. Have I mentioned how amazing she is? THE TRANSFUSION SCENE, Y'ALL

and I'm so excited to read Jalil's installment next ahhh

  David doesn't do "theories," of course. That wouldn't really work for him. He wants us all to see him as some kind of direct, straightforward man-of-action type. That's his self-image. What he wills himself to be. But he wears his bruises and scars on the outside, out in plain view where anyone, at least any girl or woman, can see them.
  David thinks no one sees the insecurity, no one sees the uncertainty. If he just keeps talking tough and gritting his teeth and racing toward each new danger, we'll all forget the failings we've seen; we'll buy the image. We'll forget how he broke down before Loki. We'll somehow not see the shadows cast by earlier failings, failings that gnaw at his insides during every quiet moment. We'll never ask whether his own fear is what makes him brave.
  It's what makes him comical and fascinating and even a little wonderful, all at the same time.
  Christopher? Christopher keeps trying to convince himself that life is one big sitcom. Like he'd be able to make sense of it all if he could just go back and watch the entire I Love Lucy oeuvre.
  The world is too complicated for Christopher. Not that he's not intelligent, he is. But he needs the world to make sense, and he needs it to fit, to be predictable. He wants the big pendulum to swing in a narrow arc, not too far. And when it doesn't, he takes the world and forces it into place, organizes it with humor and narrow-mindedness. He'll chop off the ends of the arc.
  Too sad? Kill it with a joke. Is someone too near to touching his heart? Push the person away with a harsh cheap shot guaranteed to alienate.
  Now, Jalil does do "theory." Jalil does little else. And of the four of us, he remains the most opaque to me. Also the most interesting.
  Jalil believes in nothing but a reality that can be demonstrated in a laboratory, written up in a paper, and then replicated in another lab. So he says, and I believe him. I have the respect for him that believers sometimes have for nonbelievers. He's not lukewarm, not half in and half out, not just covering his ass, not pretending to a belief system he doesn't live.
  Jalil looks out for himself, so he says, and that I don't entirely believe. It's him I look to instinctively for support.

***

  Fear wears you out. Real fear, not the artificial fear you get parachuting or bungee jumping. It's easy to tell the difference between the real thing and the fake: If you have any desire to yell, "Yee-hah!" it's not real.
  Real fear makes you want to beg and plead and pray, Please let me live, please, please let me live. It makes you lose control over your own muscles, over your own mind. It makes you want to vomit.
  It makes you so tired.
  We rode that way, me on his lap, him scanning the trees and the bushes, no doubt wondering how he'd fight with me on his lap.
  After a while my loopy, feverish brain settled on a simple problem. How do I tell a legend that I have to pee? Then, just as I was thinking I'd try something Shakespearian, you know, 'Prithee, milord, but I must fain squat in yon bushes, else will I dampen thy attractive knee,' we were there.

[NOTE FROM JULIE: I burst out laughing on the subway like a crazy person at this]

***

  "She can do that to you. Make you not believe what you've seen, or else believe what never happened."
  Jalil's eyes narrowed. "One of these days, maybe when her spokesman here is away, you need to tell us what--"
  David erupted. He wheeled, pushed his face close to Jalil, rose as high as he could without standing on his toes. "You got a problem with me, Jalil, you need to just say it to my face, not make snide--"
  "To your face, in your face, David, I have a problem with you!" Jalil yelled, not backing down. "I don't trust you anymore. Is that straight up enough for you?"
  "The witch has made you her bitch," Christopher said, barking out a harsh laugh at his own wit. "You don't be spending the night with her, and being her little sock puppet, and then come sneaking around us like we're all best buds."
  David looked like he'd been ready to take Jalil on. But now it was Christopher, too. He shot a look at me, expecting me to intervene. Well, I was sick of them all. Sick of rushing around like a fire-woman armed with an estrogen bucket, putting out testosterone fires.
  "Kill each other, I don't care," I muttered.

***

  "You hate Senna because she's different from you, Jalil. Very enlightened. You know, some people don't like you because you're black, or me because--"
  "Oh, shut up," Christopher jumped in. "Now Senna's part of the oppressed witch minority? We gotta be sensitive because she's a witch? Are you high?"
  "I don't hate her," Jalil said more calmly. "Just don't trust her. Neither would you, David, except she has you whipped."

***

  "You were Lancelot's son?" Christopher said.
  Galahad looked puzzled. "You speak as though I were already gone. Have you had a vision?"
  Christopher seemed embarrassed, a first for him, maybe. "No, man. No. It's just... you know, you're history to us. Like, you happened a long time ago."
  Galahad searched Christopher's face, deepening his embarrassment. Then slowly, hesitantly, he asked, "Was I real? In your world, in the Old World? Was I more than a legend, more than a tale? Was I a man?"
  "I... I don't know," Christopher said.
  "My memories are... I remember bits and pieces. My mother, the Lady Elaine. I remember the sword in the stone." He shook his head. "No, not Arthur's sword, another. I remember taking my seat in the Siege Perilous, the seat that would kill all pretenders but me. I know of my great quest for the Grail, though even there I am confused, for Gawain recalls the same quest, as though we were two men doing the same deed. But there are so many gaps. So many missing pieces. Perhaps I knew them once and over these too-long centuries I have simply forgotten them."
  "I'm sure you were real," I said. "I'm sure you are real."
  Galahad nodded and looked down at the ground. "It is a lady's right to flatter, and be flattered."

***

  "Christopher and David? I want you to apply direct pressure with the palms of your hands."
  "On the blood?" David asked, aghast.
  "No, on his ears, David. Of course on the wound. Direct pressure to slow the bleeding while Merlin is sewing. Not much point putting blood in him if it's just going to run back out, just do it, just freaking do it! Okay. How are you doing, Mister Galahad?"
  "I endure this so that I may be returned to battle," he said. "But I cannot endure talking to a woman so embarrassingly situated."
  "Embarrassingly... oh, please. That's the least of your problems." I actually smiled. More worried about his modesty than staying alive. "Idiot. If women were like that we'd never have any babies."
  "I don't think you should call the patient an idiot," Jalil said.
  "Oh, my God. Did I say that out loud? Sorry. Really. Okay, get ready. Now. No, left a little, David, on the wound, on the cut."

***

  "How long should we go on with this?" Christopher asked.
  "Um, okay, let's see, diameter of the tube, rate of flow," Jalil began, then gave up.
  "Do it till I start seeming faint," I said.
  We held our positions, aching, straining, for an hour. Merlin never moved, never wavered in his attention. He was witnessing a miracle. Better: Something he could do himself, someday.
  Then at last Jalil said, "Okay, that's gotta be enough, right?"
  I pulled out the tube. I bandaged my elbow with freshly boiled rags. At last, I stood up, drew a deep breath, felt the blood rush from my head, dropped the hymnbook from my hand and yelled, "Oh, dammit, I can't take this anymore!"

***

  I heard a rustling sound behind me.
  Saw the troll's little pig eyes look past me.
  "Oh, good," Galahad said airily. "The battle isn't over just yet."
  That broke the spell. I turned, looked, and yes, he was there. Pale but unwavering. His bare chest a mess of unhealed wounds and smeared blood. The Frankenstein stitches across his lower belly were a hideous grin.
  In the weird silence he said, "My lady, I would not intrude if you are determined to stain your sword with this troll's blood. But if not, I beg you to do me the honor of letting me kill him for you."

[...]

  I went to Galahad.
  "You shouldn't be up," I said.
  "And you should not be standing alone against an onslaught," he countered.
  I shook my head. "I wasn't. I just froze. Couldn't move."
  I realized it must have looked as if I were being brave. I must have looked as though I were standing there like a rock, just me and my borrowed sword, ready for anything the trolls had.
  Not exactly the truth.
  "I feared that having your blood flowing in my veins would unman me," Galahad said with a shadow of his old smile. "Now I see that it can only make me more bold."
  I didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't the kind of compliment you hear very often. A perfect knight doesn't t come up every day and compliment me on my blood.
  "Oh." I said. "Thanks."
  I'd been wrong. Sometimes fear did leave you with a sense of "go for it." Maybe I was getting used to being scared. Maybe there were different varieties of scared. Maybe I was somewhere past being scared, or just losing my mind, but part of me badly wanted him to lift me up onto his horse and ride away to some castle, or at least some Marriott.
  He was a babe. Better, he was a man. He was a man that other men thought was a man. Sir Gawain had yelled his name like all the others. And here I was, the only non-witch woman within miles. And we were probably going to die. He would die, and my friends, and I'd have to die without even having him kiss me, which seemed a hell of a waste, except that how do you smoothly move the conversation from "nice troll-killing" to "shut up and kiss me before we get killed"?

***

  "That's it," I said. I was crying. "Not exactly right, is it? We barely knew him. And we won't die because he's dead. We barely knew him. So why... is it just that he was nice and good-looking and brave? Why does it hurt me, him being gone?"
  "He was a legend," David said. "We didn't know him, but we knew what he represented. He was good standing up against evil. He was the strong man defending the weak. He was brave when the odds were against him. What else is a man supposed to be? What else is he supposed to do?"
  "'We shall not see his like again.' Shakespeare, I think," Jalil said.
  "Yes," I said. "I don't remember which play."
  David knelt down beside the grave. He held the sword out over the stones. "I'll try to be worthy of your sword."
  I shook my head wonderingly. Every time I thought I understood David, he surprised me. But I guess that's true of people generally. You never know them, not all the way.

***

  "I told them we'd find you here," Jalil said. He and David and Christopher all sat down. David grabbed a chair from another table.
  They looked strange. They were dressed like normal people. So was I, for that matter. We were warm and clothed and dry and there was no cut under Jalil's eye. Clean hair and faces, brushed teeth. They looked strange.

***

  Jalil looked down at the book, then at me.
  "That blood transfusion. Guess it went both ways, huh?"
  [...] I did some homework. Then I rehearsed some of the numbers from Rent in front of my mirror. And when I tried to sing "Without You" I cried.
  I stayed up too late watching TV. And when I went to bed at last I knew that I would wake up right there, warm and rested in my room. And that I would also wake up wet and miserable and scared in a place that could not possibly exist.
  But did.

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So if this book sucked as well, I was ready to give up on Project EverWorld. And yes, the writing was surprisingly bad and juvenile, which I can’t even comprehend, because this is K.A. fucking Applegate who wrote beautifully the first half of the Animorphs series, so I can’t fathom why there are so many punctuation mistakes in this book.

This book is told from April’s point of view, a horny wannabe actress who hates being a girl because it makes her weaker than the boys, and who wants nothing more than to bang Sir Galahad – yes, the Galahad – when he saves her from a dragon. This book is another not-really-going-anywhere filler, but gets bonus points because at least it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.

In this book we see how April deals with being yanked back and forth between worlds, and her inferiority complex when it comes to her manipulative, beautiful, dangerous half-sister Senna. The whole book revolves around Senna. The dragon was after Senna. Loki comes after Senna. Merlin and Galahad work together to protect Senna. Senna escapes after displaying her power and having her ass kicked by Merlin. Senna Senna Senna. There’s no real arc because it’s mostly about the fighting.

I was looking forward to reading April’s book because she’s not a coward in hero’s clothing like David, and she’s not a misogynistic prick like Christopher. In fact, she’s quite deep and can read people quite well, so we get some insights into the other characters we either may not have thought about before or just needed confirming.

The biggest problem is that April is one of two girls in a pseudo-Medieval patriarchal misogynistic society, so yes while Galahad is totally swoony and all ‘Stand back, my lady, I will protect you!’ April’s still stuck being ‘the girl’ and doesn’t get to fight like the boys do. And she hates this, but at the same time she’s grateful because she’s pissed scared as well. April’s voice is a little different to the previous two and she uses heaps of acting references to make sense of her world, which I really liked.

I think Jalil’s book is next, and I’m looking forward to being in his head.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

   Despite the fact that for the first page, page and a half or so I thought for sure this was going to be a book narrated by Jalil (surprise, it’s April!), I feel like Ms. Applegate really hit her Everworld stride with Enter the Enchanted. All the pieces, the world-building has shaped up and connected enough that it is finally able to take a back seat to the real deal, the harrowing nature of living in Everworld and having to run from or confront (or both!) all the dangers mundane and magical as they appear from the skies, from within, from the ground, and even from beyond the grave. And since hitting her stride, the themes are also much clearer – What does it mean to be afraid? What does it mean to be brave? What makes someone “real” or “legendary” or “mythical”? What does it mean to potentially let in the bad along with the good? What does it mean to kill someone, anyone, be they human or troll or something else entirely – and then have to live with it? What does it mean, ultimately, to make a connection with another person, no matter who they are or what they have done?

   With this book, April, Christopher, David, and Jalil are starting to figure out how they can fit together and work as a group. Sure there is still friction – there likely always will be given how this all started – but at least now they are realizing that they are in this together, for better or for worse. They have to work as a team, they have to participate in the events around them, they have to live in Everworld as much as they live in the Old World. David is realizing what his chosen role as “leader” means including the guilt-ridden, insecure aspects of actions and decisions. Christopher is realizing that they have to survive, it’s not just a sitcom, real things happen and he has to make his own role in it. Jalil is starting to accept the weirdness, at least as much as he can – he still tries to apply his logic to Everworld, and is learning to stretch it just enough. April is still hiding whatever happened in her youth with Senna, but at the same time, she is wondering if Senna is not wrong in her actions – and what that means for April and the world she knows.

   Overall, this installment feels much more… connected, more fluid, than the first two books, and with everything that happens, I’m wholly onboard this Everworld train now! (I would have finished the series anyways from pure curiosity and enjoyment, but now I’m truly eager for and invested in the next installments.)

   […W]hen we [my friends, mostly drama club, and I] had to reach deep to come up with raw emotions, we could do that because we were we. Because we trusted one another and supported one another.
   What was I without friends? Something, I was sure. I mean, I wouldn’t disappear if I was alone. But I’d never tried it. – page 21

   I went out with Mario. We saw the movie. We talked. I had a mocha and a pannini made with hummus. We talked some more. We drove home. Mario stuck his tongue in my mouth and his hand inside my blouse. I stopped him. I don’t even know why. Half my life I was in hell, and the other half I was still trying to be a good girl. – page 26

   “Changes are coming. Cataclysmic changes. The old order will be thrown down, a new order will rise up in its place. The Hetwans’ god, Ka Anor, is a revolution, a terror. I can affect how things happen. I can’t stop it, but I can make it good instead of bad. I’m sorry if you don’t like my methods, but I do what I have to do.”
   For a second I wavered.
   Then Jalil, in his dry, doesn’t-impress-me voice, said, “That’s pretty good: an entire paragraph saying absolutely nothing.” – page 37-38

   Sir Kay, too, fought though dead. He swung his sword with one hand and held his own head cradled in the crook of his other arm.
   The detached head yelled soundlessly, mouth wide.
   I was as cold as Loki’s blood. Dead men had replaced the dead animals. Merlin’s handiwork.
   Christopher bared his teeth at Senna, a fierce contempt. “And you thought you’d put a spell on the guy who can do that?”
   Senna was trembling. Maybe just mad. But I felt, wanted to feel, that she’d just gotten a lesson in her own weakness. A demonstration of what power meant in Everworld. – page 73

   And maybe later, someday when the specific memories had faded away and all that was left was my own private myth, it would be all those [good] things. But right here, right now, it was the details, the reality that occupied my mind. Big details. Little ones. – page 86-87

   Fear wears you out. Real fear, not the artificial fear you get parachuting or bungee jumping. It’s easy to tell the difference between the real thing and the fake: If you have any desire to yell, “Yee-hah!” it’s not real.
   Real fear makes you want to beg and plead and pray, Please let me live, please, please let me live. It makes you lose control over your own muscles, over your own mind. It makes you want to vomit.
   It makes you so tired. – page 88

   [Christopher commented,] “So. Was the perfect knight a perfect late morning, early afternoon?”
   [I replied,] “Christopher, we’ve got to get you a girlfriend.”
   “Two.” He held up two fingers. “One in each universe, please.” – page 91

   “I’m sorry we lost you,” David said. “Sorry I lost you.” – page 91 – You can hear the guilt he’s feeling – he’s really trying hard to step into the leader role, and realizing that it involves hard aspects like this, too.

   David looked like he’d been ready to take Jalil on. But now it was Christopher, too. He shot a look at me, expecting me to intervene. Well, I was sick of them all. Sick of rushing around like a firewoman armed with an estrogen bucket, putting out testosterone fires. – page 92-93

   Loki. Huizilopoctli. How many other mad gods would invade our world if Senna lived?
   Senna looked up at me just then. Our gazes locked. Did she know what I was thinking? Did she know that I was weighing her life, wondering which was worse: Senna alive, or Senna dead? – page 98

   “You were Lancelot’s son?” Christopher asked.
   […] Galahad searched Christopher’s face, deepening [Christopher’s] embarrassment. Then slowly, hesitantly, he asked, “Was I real? In your world, in the Old World? Was I more than a legend, more than a tale? Was I a man?” – page 102 – This, this crisis of being, I guess I would call it – something that we often don’t think about, or maybe rather avoid thinking about. Galahad probably had some similar questions when he and Gawain compared notes about the quest for the Holy Grail, but this puts everything in a whole new perspective.

   [(Galahad is badly wounded and bleeding all over) I said nervously,] “Okay. How are you doing, Mister Galahad?”
   “I endure this so that I may be returned to battle,” he said. “But I cannot endure talking to a woman so embarrassingly situated.”
   “Embarrassingly… oh, please. That’s the least of your problems.” I actually smiled. More worried about his modesty than staying alive. “Idiot. If women were like that we’d never have any babies.”
   “I don’t think you should call the patient an idiot,” Jalil said.
   “Oh, my God. Did I say that out loud? Sorry. Really. Okay, get ready […]” – page 123

   I had no weapon. Didn’t matter. Someone would fall, someone would die and drop a sword for me.
   What was I saying? A sword? What did I know about swords? What did I know about fighting and killing? I could die. Anyone could do that. But could I kill? Even an inhuman troll?
   Did I have a choice? I wasn’t some helpless female from a 1950’s horror movie. […] I believed in equality. I believed that women should be allowed in combat. I believed, I believed all the good feminist stuff I should believe. […]
   But I was so afraid.-- page 137

   “I feared that having your blood flowing in my veins would unman me,” Galahad said with a shadow of his old smile. “Now I see that it can only make me more bold.”
   I didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t the kind of compliment you hear very often. A perfect knight doesn’t come up every day and compliment me on my blood. – page 141 – If this is his reaction to a transfusion, imagine if someone had mentioned that Galahad’s blood more or less in part came from his mother in the first place--!

   Galahad laughed, almost regretfully. “I am a creature of myth and legend, sir. I am what I must be, real or unreal, man or…or mere imagining. I am a knight. Brave and true. Enemy to dragons, defender of maidens, servant of honor. I am what I must be. No more, no less.” – page 145-146 – (emphasis added) Can I just say I absolutely love this quote?

   So I sang, “Without You.” [from Rent for Galahad]
   “That’s it,” I said. I was crying. “Not exactly right, is it? We barely knew him. And we won’t die because he’s dead. We barely knew him. So why…is it just that he was nice and good-looking and brave? Why does it hurt me, him being gone?”
   “He was a legend,” David said. “We didn’t know him, but we knew what he represented. He was good standing up against evil. He was the strong man defending the weak. He was brave when the odds were against him. What else is a man supposed to be? What else is he supposed to do?” – page 160-161

   [Christopher said, “…] bye-bye, Everworld. It’s the only way, man.”
   “What about the people there? The people in Everworld?”
   They all looked at me in surprise. I’d surprised myself.
   “Say what?” Jalil snapped.
   “Look, it’s stupid, I guess. I mean, I guess it’s stupid. But here’s the thing: Galahad was a good person. So is Gawain. And maybe Merlin, too. I mean, Everworld isn’t all just psycho gods and cannibals and trolls and – ”
   I fell silent as a girl I knew slightly walked past.
   “I mean, those are real people. At least over there they are. And some of them are good people.”
   “So what?” Jalil asked.
   “So maybe that changes things,” I said. – page 167 – Say it with me now, “TURNING POINT!” This is acceptance, this is realization, this is the next chapter in their lives really starting.

Swear count:
Damn it (3)
ass (14)
in hell (26)
jackass (62)
all hell’s gonna break loose (64)
the hell out of (71)
bitch (92)
dammit (127)

[₊‧ ୨୧mollie_ anneliese⸆⸉(kai azer’s version)₊‧ ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have this 4 stars even though I would still say 3.5. I think this is my fave so far. The writing is getting better and I liked that it was from April’s perspective. I loved the way it ended with her talking about waking up in a place that shouldn’t exist. But did. I almost cried when Galahad died. I was really hoping he would live, but he died heroically. I liked this better cause like I said it was from April’s POV, and it had all the mid evil things. Onto Realm of the Reaper!

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Arthurian book: reunited with Senna, the cast fights off an attack by Loki on Galahad's court. I like that the Arthurian characters are particularly fuzzy in their origins, somewhere between mythic and mortal, with histories that seem to contradict April's research back in Old World; it suits them and gives this book a misty, mythic tone which is more effective than the romantic dynamic between April and Galahad. But April underwhelmed me: I wanted so much to like her, because she's female but also because of how David and Christopher describe her in contrast to Senna. But her PoV is undifferentiated, especially since she comes right after Christopher and their "I narrate my life according to TV/movies" and "I narrate my life according to acting" gimmicks blur together.

My lower ratings are more indicative of quality--which is still not great--than enjoyment. These are easy to chew through, little popcorn books with bizarro worldbuilding and untaxing, if unremarkable, narration. I can give or take the world, but I love Senna and I appreciate the smaller moments: the horror of Merlin's magics, everyone's persistent exhaustion, the contrasting mundanity--both a frustration and an escape--of the "real" world.

[Katherine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be from Jalil's point of view, but it was not. However, April's POV wasn't terrible. It was better than David's. I don't even dislike David as a character, but I don't care for his perspective as much as the others'.

I feel like I'm going to say this for every Everworld book, but I wish this had more room for emotional depth. I suppose the lack of processing and description can come from the fact that the action happens so quickly - and the fact that YA has changed in the last 20 years. I have a massive classroom library and found K. A. Applegate's award-winning "The One and Only Ivan" on the shelf just yesterday. I'm glad Applegate grew exponentially as an author, so I'm holding out a little hope that the series will get better as it continues on. I think this was the last book that I read in the 6th/7th grade, so it's all new from here.

But, with that said... Galahad is a fantastic character. There was real potential for that character in this book, and he mostly lived up to it. And now I want to go read Tolkien's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and brush up on my Arthurian legends.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there's finally some plot to this, now.
Maybe that's what's been missing for me, personally. Just a huge lack of why and what.
So it's good that there's some more going on.

Need more info overall to feel like I know what's really going on with Senna or why any of this matters in a bigger way, but overall I'm enjoying the series a little more now. And as always, I do enjoy the knights of the round table and feel like I would have liked this take on Arthur had he been in it.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently doing a re-read on this (last read was in HS). Unfortunately, it's not holding up the test of time. Nostalgia wise, it's still what got me through a lot of BS when I was younger, so I still liked it. Adult me just doesn't like it much anymore.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read from the Everworld Series (even if it was the third of the series) and it is literally, my most treasured book, because before it, I never read. I hated reading. I didn't see any good in it. I read this book, like, too many times to count when I realized reading was good and got all the other books. So to me, this book, is not just good. It's sacred. (And it made me cry)

Some important notes that bear mentioning: reviews are highly subjective, including mine. My opinion is meant to give an overview of what I saw/felt when I read it. What I see might not be what you see, and what I like might not be what you enjoy, which is fine. My advice to anyone looking into a book? Read the premise; if it interests you enough, give it a chance, and it may surprise you—or not, but at least then, you'll know.

[Bobby Crew · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the books have cliff hanger endings, which makes me almost have to continue, even if i don't really want to. But again, they are all fast reads.

In the third novel Christopher, David, Jalil and April, learn that maybe they are not all there by accident, and also Senna has magical powers, and can monipulate their minds and feelings.
In this book they encounter Merlin, a second time, the encouter him the first time towards the end of the second book. They try to get help from Merlin, to find Senna, and a way out of Everworld. However they soon find out that Merlin may not be their friend.
After reading this book I have yet to make a desicion about continuing the sries, I might but I don't think I'm going to make it all the way to the end because there are so many books.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of the three books in this series I've read, this is probably my favorite, which is probably attributed to the introduction of characters from Arthurian legend and the female perspective absent from the first two books. Just as fast-paced and action-filled as the others, the co-mingling of Norse mythology and legends of King Arthur are intriguing, and leave me interested in what happens next in the series.

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, now April's telling the story. Yes, it makes perfect sense to stick your head and shoulders into your bathroom in another universe by inserting your body into your half-sister's stomach. This series is weird, man. I like how April's all obsessed with Rent.

[Small Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

reread 8/2015
Originally read 7/2010

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think one reason I originally liked these books is because the characters' voices are so real. Book 2 really encapsulated Christopher's raw and visceral fear of having his heart eaten by Huitzilopoctli. His need for escapism when he crossed over to the old world and took refuge in sitcoms. It's the same in this book with April.

I'm nothing like April, and by that I mean, not an actress, not a redhead, not a vegetarian. But I do identify with her. I get her thought process, and I like her. She's believable, and compelling as a character.

Christopher, I have come to realise, is a much less offensive character when he's not the one narrating. There's no getting around the fact he is genuinely funny a lot of the time, e.g. when the teens are fleeing and April wants to take horses but Senna whines that she can't ride horses, so Christopher says "find her a broom instead". Yes, he still has his bigot moments, but these are somehow worse when you hear his thought process around what he says.

David is bewitched as always, which makes his fawning over Senna really irritating, but he is a good battle strategist, even without combat training. When he's away from Senna's clutches, he really comes into his own.

The character April seems to get on with best is Jalil, and it is clear that he also looks out for her, which is really sweet.

This is also the book where Senna finally gets more page time. She is still a terrible, manipulative person, but you can see some of the cracks appearing. She isn't all-powerful, in fact she is way out of her depth, and she comes to realise this very quickly. In some ways, she reminds me of Yennefer from the Witcher series, except perhaps less likeable.

As for the new characters, I like that even though she includes Arthurian knights, Applegate doesn't stress the courtly love. Galahad is handsome, follows a code of chivalry, and questing, and so on, but by April's own admission, he smells, and riding sidesaddle with him is uncomfortable, not romantic. She even has a moment which made me chuckle, where she started wondering how to tell him she needed to pee:

...I was thinking I'd try something Shakespearean, you know, "Prithee, milord, but I must fain squat in yon bushes, else will I dampen thy attractive knee,"...

Similarly, I appreciate that Applegate wrote about magic having consequences for the user (i.e. Merlin looking like he's "just come from chemotherapy" after a big magical battle). She was writing about the costs of magic use a decade before Brandon Sanderson wrote his second law of magic. She also pays enough respect to physics to note that dragons really should not be able to fly with such relatively small wings. But this is Everworld. The regular laws of physics don't apply here. The blood transfusion scene was an interesting feat of improvisation and showed off how boss April can be in an emergency. I'm not even sure it should have worked, but they clearly didn't have any other options.

This book managed to be sad. And once again I am impressed by Applegate's ability to work complex emotions into such short books. So far I definitely like April best as a narrator, but the next book is Jalil, and I am very curious to hear his perspective. Applegate is really good at giving all four characters unique voices, and this, I think, elevates her storytelling.

I'm rating this book higher than the previous two because of April. But also Galahad. So it's around a 4.5 stars.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this series has been pretty grim, and this book was no less gory, intense, or terrifying than its predecessors, but it is the first time we get a subplot with some elements that are genuinely fun—most of which are centered around the crush that April more or less immediately develops on Galahad, and the differing expectations that each of them has regarding their situation:

He smiled. "You roasted several trolls back in the wheat field. As a rule fair maidens remain helpless until properly rescued."

"I... I'm sorry. I'm not from around here."

"Mmm. It's a refreshing change. I've rescued many maidens. Never a troll-killer."

I also enjoyed the injection of some much-needed realism into your typical courtly romance tropes:

You'd think it would be romantic, or at least erotic, squeezed in close with the perfect knight. And maybe later, someday when the specific memories had faded away and all that was left was my own private myth, it would be all those things.

But right here, right now, it was the details, the reality that occupied my mind. Big details. Little ones.

Horses bounce. And getting bounced when you're resting all your weight on the one butt cheek that's on a man's thigh, while the other butt cheek just kind of hangs there in the air, so that every step sends a little impact up your tailbone and up your spine, well, that gets old fairly quickly. Not to mention the bladder factor.

Life, even in Everworld, wasn't a romance novel. I guess romance writers imagine that being rescued is a big rush, a kind of thrill that will just send you into a state of uncontrollable desire. But here I was, all alone with a shockingly handsome man who had just saved my life. A knight, no less. And mainly I just felt tired.

Fear wears you out. Real fear, not the artificial fear you get parachuting or bungee jumping. It's easy to tell the difference between the real thing and the fake: if you have any desire to yell "Yee-hah!" it's not real.

Real fear makes you want to beg and plead and pray. Please let me live, please, please let me live. It makes you lose control over your own muscles, over your own mind. It makes you want to vomit.

It makes you so tired.

And once again, it's great to see the kids making really effective use of what few resources they have, and accomplishing quite a bit with very, very little, from improving the battleground in their favor to performing a successful blood transfusion. It's also good to see that they're not just being swept aimlessly from place to place; there is an overarching plot involving Ka Anor versus the gods of Old Earth, it's not ready to let go of them just yet, and they have some decisions to make regarding how much, or even if, they want to get involved.

Once again, though, it just didn't click with me on a lot of different levels. The characters are still only very begrudgingly working together, and it doesn't look like any of them are ever going to develop any kind of genuine friendship. Again, there's nothing particularly wrong with that, it just doesn't appeal on a personal level. (Also, what's up with the synopsis focusing on Jalil when April is the narrator this time?)

[Joshua Glasgow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still feel like the series is just okay. There’s considerably less racism in this one, as compared to Christopher’s entry, thankfully, but not a lot that makes it stick out or which impresses. This is the shortest of the first three books, at just 169 pages—nearly 1/5 shorter than SEARCH FOR SENNA.

There are basically two events that happen in the book: a battle at Sir Galahad’s castle and a second battle at the ruins of an old stone tower. I suppose there’s some intrigue in the way Merlin brings the feast, the table, and the dead of the battle back to life to attack Loki. And the moment when April teaches Merlin about blood transfusion is neat. I will say that my previous assessment of April as the Raphael of the group seems to have been misguided. I don’t know who to compare her to now.

Though their story is certainly ongoing, unlike the previous two this one does not end as the action is ramping up with a “To Be Continued”, which I appreciate. I also like that there seems to be some deepening of the plot here, as April recognizes that the people of Everworld are not all evil, and that seeking an escape while leaving them to fend for themselves might be… unethical? There’s some disagreement in the group about this, but they do seem to have agreed that there’s no way they can leave Everworld and ever feel safe, since the god-eater Ka Anor could always use Senna as a gateway to the real world at any time. Nobody considered killing Senna as an option, which is… somewhat surprising, but perhaps as they get more desperate somebody will bring it up.

Feels like the “set-up” has occurred and now we’re moving into the main thrust of the series beginning next book. They’ve come to terms with being stuck in Everworld, as much as one can come to terms with such a fate. Now what?

[Brunna Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve come to the conclusion that each book is actually just a really long chapter in the Everworld book.

This chapter is told from April’s point of view. Thank God we get to meet the perfect knight, Sir Galahad, from a female perspective!

After being attacked by a dragon at the end of the last book/chapter, our story begins with Sir Galahad saving our protagonists from the big, bad dragon and whisking them away to one of his castles (he has many). Of course, Everworld can’t be as simple as living happily ever after with the Knights of the Round Table, because Loki shows up for brunch.

Sir Galahad and Metin refuse to hand Senna over to Loki, mostly because he wants to do bad things with her magic. And off we go into more battles that our heroes have no business surviving.

Thankfully, April is much less whiny than Christopher and David, and she looks at things a bit more rationally (as rational as one can be in Everworld). We also get to learn a bit more about Senna from her half-sister’s point of view.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The proper introduction of Merlin and other Arthurian legends didn't interest me during the second reading as much as it should have, I suppose, nor did the potential of April's romance with Sir Galahad. Or even April as a narrator. The most engaging bit was probably when the group's impressive dinner came back to life, thanks to a spell from Merlin. As an adult, I'm not sure I understand the supposition that abandoning the inhabitants of Everworld could be seen as immoral, and that four random, ordinary teens have some obligation to at least attempt to help them. I bought this as a teen, though. I'm hoping that as I continue to re-read the series, I'll find myself getting back into it instead of looking at it from a jaded perspective.

[Curtis Harrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

The biggest issue with these books is that each one starts assuming you have not read the previous book. You get at least one chapter dedicated to re-capping the-story-so-far.

On top of that, in the first two books April (the Mom of the group) is the more intriguing character of the four but this book, the first from her POV, reduces her to a boy-crazed pseduo-nymph almost. It's very strange and disappointing.

To it's credit, it does EVENTUALLY get to a "hero moment" for her (as the other entries have for their respective POV character) and has one of the more dramatic third acts thus far as well.

But the first half is a real slog to get through.

[Fefi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merlino e gli zombie (SPOILER)
Sarà che si respira più magia,ma questo terzo volume mi è abbastanza piaciuto. Entrano in scena Merlino,i cavalieri della tavola rotonda,i draghi e i resti di carne bianca e rossa del banchetto al castello,contro il dio nordico Loky e i suoi troll.
L'io narrante è di April,che qui cerca sempre di calmare tutto il gruppo,anche se non sopporta il comportamento della sua sorellastra Senna: c'è chi la vuole seguire nel suo progetto e chi vuole solo ritornare nel mondo reale.
Alla fine, Senna riscompare un' altra volta e l'avventura continua.

[Tommy Grooms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enter the Enchanged is where the series really hits its stride. The story moves past exposition and hapless survival as the kids learn to apply their "real world" knowledge and abilities to affect events in Everworld. We get an overarching goal (not just to escape, but to save Everworld from the god-eater Ka Anor) and a look at the redeeming qualities of Everworld through getting to know Arthurian legends Merlin and Galahad. April's (warranted) feminine disapproval of the other characters' bravado is a refreshing change of narrative pace, offering a sober assessment of the story thus far.

[Heather Mayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, at least now I know the main conflict of this series. Ka Anor, a new god, wants to eat/ destroy all the other gods in Everworld. Merlin wants everyone to unite together against Ka Anor. Loki wants to run away back to earth. The only way to earth is through Senna. So if the 4 teenagers use Senna to get home, they open a gateway for Loki and the other gods to come to earth. So they need to figure out a way to defeat Ka Anor so all the other gods will be ok starting in Everworld and they can go home alone. So that's now what they are trying to do.

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I find these books extremely hard to rate and review, so please keep in mind that the ratings I’m attributing are not really equivalent with my usual ones, nor accurate with how pleasant a read it’s being.

Argh writing reviews for these books is getting harder than I was expecting, I don't know what to say.

I'm still enjoying it and the characters are starting to take form, so is the plot.

Once again I really liked the historical/mythological part of it.

[Lorenzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia avanza (anche se lentamente) raccontata questa volta da April.
Si scoprono piano piano cose su Everworld e su Senna. Si svela il perché della battaglia anche se non rimane ancora chiaro il ruolo di molti partecipanti.
A mio parere comunque con uno stile un po' troppo lento, il cambio di narratore è bello, ma si perde un po' troppo tempo a rispiegare il nuovo punto di vista che comunque si era già intuito nei libri precedenti.

[G. Edweird Cheese · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great installment. this time its from April's pov. she's a likeable charater. smart, level headed.
Lots of action, and a pretty large body count. senna is still a mystery, but a little is learned about her. and for once, one of the characters just straight up asked "so, why didn't you just kill her and avoid this whole mess?" which, i think, would have been the most sensible thing to do. boom. shes dead, nothing to fight over anymore, go out for tacos.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Galahad has always been one of my favorite inclusions in this series, and this reread just reminded me how much. Given how much horrors our band of teens have been on the receiving end of the horrors of what Everworld has to offer so far, but Galahad is not that, and his presence in this book is really a boon they needed in order to decide how to proceed through the next few chapters of the book.

I really am enjoying this reread and am excited to eventually get to the rest of the books.

[Rylee Creed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE APRIL'S POV!!!!!
This one is so much more emotionally compelling than the first two books. They finally meet people on their side who are willing to help and aren't just slaves to their tales. April is also more relatable to me than both David and Christopher, but that's neither here nor there. The struggle between Merlin, Galahad, and Loki is also incredibly compelling, and I loved finally seeing Senna get a bit of a reality check.

[Namita ♛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one because for once it was from the POV of April, not some douchey or idiotically self-righteous male jacked up on testosterone.

It also made me want to rewatch Merlin and I kinda did.

David and Christopher still annoy the shit out of me and so does Senna but April and Jalil help me get through.

Let’s see what Jalil’s POV is like now.

[Kinsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

listen, when April tells Sir-freaking-Galahad himself that his dick is going to fall off because he got a blood transfusion from a woman!!! was so Iconic™ that 20 years later i still remembered every second of that scene!!!