Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is a 2017 novel written by Jessica Townsend. It is part of the Nevermoor series. The book was critically acclaimed, winning Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2018. A sequel was released in 2018.

Little Miss Snarker Morrigan Crow is supposedly a cursed child, serving as a convenient target for blame and forced to write sarcasm filled apology letters to people who has had the slightest misfortune. She is viewed as a burden by her father, the chancellor of Great Wolfacre, and has very little interactions with her family. Worst of all, and there's no way to put it softly, she will die on her twelfth birthday. No exceptions. No way out, no way to save herself, the death is a 100% guarantee, and Morrigan has accepted this fact for the entirety of her life.

As if her life couldn't get any worse, it turns out that she is going to die on her eleventh birthday, not twelfth. The day known as Eventide is about to come a year early. Fortunately for Morrigan, it turns out there is a way to cheat death and to not die. It all lies in the ginger Jupiter North, who takes her away to the city of Nevermoor in the Free States. Jupiter takes her to the Hotel Deucalion, which he owns. Unfortunately for Morrigan, she doesn't have a visa to be there. Fortunately for Morrigan, there's to stay without a visa: the Wunderous Society, whose members cannot be deported. Each year, they accept nine aspiring new recruits to join their ranks, and Jupiter has chosen her as his candidate. Unfortunately for Morrigan, there are around three hundred candidates taking part in the trials each year. Fortunately for Morrigan, she has a special and unique ability which none of the candidates have...

For more tropes, visit the page dedicated to the Nevermoor franchise as a whole.


 * Alpha Bitch: Noelle Devereaux, who is never mentioned after the first book.
 * Alliterative Name: Morrigan's father is called Corvus Crow.
 * Arc Words: Step boldly! The phrase is first uttered when people jump off the roof of the Hotel Deucalion, and is continually said in the rest of the book.
 * Do You Trust Me?: Jupiter asks Morrigan this just before taking her to Nevermoor. "Jupiter North: You just need to trust me. Do you trust me?"

But the words in her heart were I’m alive."
 * Don't Look Down: It is tradition for residents of the Hotel Deucalion to jump down from its rooftop on Eventide with an umbrella to slow them down. Morrigan thinks this phrase right before jumping off.
 * Establishing Character Moment: Hawthorne is established as an outgoing and energetic prankster the moment Morrigan meets him. He and Morrigan dump a barrel of toads down onto the garden party below during their first welcome into the Wunderous Society. Alpha Bitch Noelle Devereaux is established in same chapter.
 * Foreshadowing: In chapter seven, Martha says that Jupiter "sees people the way they really are". In chapter eight, Jupiter reveals his Aura Vision abilities as a Witness, with the power to see more information about people or objects than what regular people could.
 * In Medias Res: The prologue of the book shows the coffin that contains Morrigan's apparent body, along with a public speech by her father Corvus Crow. The first chapter opens with the note Winter of Eleven (Three days earlier).
 * I'm Alive!: Morrigan thinks this once she escaped the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow."“Happy New Age” were the words Morrigan spoke.


 * It's a Long Story: Jupiter says this to Morrigan's grandmother "Jupiter North: We travelled on the Gossamer Line. Our bodies aren’t... it’s a long story. Morrigan wanted to come; I felt she deserved—"


 * Mysterious Note: Morrigan receives an envelope from Jupiter North, containing an invitation to trial for the Wunderous Society. She signs the letter within, allowing Jupiter to take her away to Nevermoor. This event starts the plot of the entire series.
 * Once Upon a Time: Morrigan tells Hawthrone a story which begins with this. This occurs in Chapter twelve, when they have discovered the shadow room in the Hotel Deucalion, when they are having a competition to see who can make the scariest shapes with the shadows. Morrigan chooses to have a story accompany hers creation.
 * Spider Tank: The Octavia, a mechanical Steampunk vehicle which Jupiter North owns which is described as being two stories tall with eight legs. At the center is a pod intended for transporting passengers, and it is used for spiriting Morrigan away to Nevermoor. Only two were created.
 * "What Do They Fear?" Episode: The Fright Trial, the third of the four trials needed to get into the Wunderous Society, where candidates have to face their fears and navigate through a tightly scripted and controlled sequence. The trial is controversial, and has caused permanent harm. The Wunderous Society even admits that "we accept no responsibility for the consequences."
 * You Can See Me?: When Morrigan asks this.
 * You Owe Me: Cadance says this to Morrigan.