Do you ever wonder if there is any truth to the ancient Greek myths about people being dragged down to the underworld? No? Well, Everneath by Brodi Ashton begs to differ. In this story, our main girl Nikki agrees to become a Forfeit to the Everneath, a version of the underworld where immortal Everlivings snack on human souls once a century to retain their powers. As you might imagine, this wreaks havoc on Nikki's already-messed-up life, and when she returns to the Surface for six months, girl has got a lot of healing to do.

Sound intriguing? You're not the only one to think so. Everneath won a Whitney Award in 2012 and a VOYA Perfect 10 in 2011. That's quite a splash for a book that's only been out since 2012. There are two sequels out as well, which are also generating some love from fans. So if you like what you see in this book, get excited to dig into more. And if you don't, well, we assure you the reading experience is still way less painful than pretty much everything Nikki experiences. So lucky you either way.

We've all messed up at some point in our lives, yes? And realized that every choice comes with consequences? It ain't fun, but it's part of the learning process for everyone.

In Everneath we see the main character, Nikki, not only make mistakes, but make huge ones that could haunt her for all eternity. This is some heavy stuff, people.

Then again, though, Nikki's going through some huge stuff. Her mom has just been killed by a drunk driver, her boyfriend appears to be cheating on her, and she and her dad aren't exactly on the same page about things. Nikki decides that she can't take all this emotional pain and wants out—but by deciding to go with Cole to the Everneath to have him suck out her emotions, Nikki makes a choice that will change her life forever.

Even though she survives the Feed, Nikki's two options are to become an Everliving like Cole (which means preying on humans) or to suffer in the Tunnels for all eternity after six months on the Surface. Talk about dire consequences to a decision.

While Nikki's situation basically blows, the rest of us can see it as a dramatization of how every choice we make has consequences, whether we like it or not. Seeing Nikki struggle to accept and take responsibility for the results of her actions—no matter how little time she has to make things right—sends the message that if she can do it, we can, too.