The Nevermoor series

In the beginning of the book, cursed ten-year-old Morrigan Crow is set to die on Eventide day, a year from now, until Eventide is switched to become one year earlier. On the night Morrigan is said to die, Jupiter North from the mystical city Nevermoor comes to rescue her from the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow, which hunts cursed children, and inserts her in a contest that to determine the next new member of the Wundrous society. Morrigan, though concerned that she apparently does not have a "knack" or little power, passes the first half of the first trial, the Book Trial, easily, but on the next portion of the quiz, about Nevemoorian history, Morrigan struggles and just barely passes. In the Chase Trial, Morrigan must race on a steed against 300 kids and hit one of only 150 targets. Morrigan is about to win, and claim the ultimate prize: an invitation to a prestigious dinner hosted by the Elders of Nevermoor themselves, but she stops to help a young girl, Cadence, who fell off her own animal, but Cadence steals the prize from her and she passes on a technicality. While at a Hallowmas festival called the Black Parade, Morrigan stops to help and old lady who has fallen down into a sewer, and the lady turns out to be a witch, who introduces her to the Fright Trial, the scariest challenge of them all. Morrigan passes the Fright Trial with help from her friend, Hawthorne, and meets Cadence again along the way. When it is time for the Show Trial, where contenders showcase their knacks for the Elders, Morrigan believes that she will lose, but Jupiter tells the Elders something and she actually passes. When the trials are over, an officer named Inspector Flintlock confronts Jupiter, saying that now Morrigan completed the trials, she is eligible to be deported since she was brought to Nevermoor illegally. Jupiter convinces the Elders to give him until Inauguration Day to come up with nine signatories on the legal papers that would allow Morrigan to stay. While riding home on a train, Morrigan is kidnapped by the infamous Ezra Squall, a man who can control the mysterious, magical substance of Wunder and massacred Nevermoor 100 years ago. Squall informs her that all the cursed children who were born on Eventide, including Morrigan, were Wundersmiths, and he send the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow after them so they wouldn't use up too much of his precious Wunder, though Morrigan having lived was no accident.

Jupiter finds a ninth signatory for Morrigan's legal papers, and learns that a great singer named Cassiel has mysteriously disappeared. Meanwhile, Morrigan does not feel that she fits in with the others in Unit 919, and some of the patrons think she should not even be in the Wundrous Society at all. Later, after discovering a new room which has appeared in her hotel room overnight which leads to Unit 919's private train station, Morrigan and the rest of Unit 919 are given a tour by their train conductor, Miss Cheery, where they meet the Scholar Mistress of the Wundrous Society's schooling division. They are also told that the schooling is split into two sections: the Mundane Arts and the Arcane Arts. Morrigan is in the Mundane Arts section. After learning that another important Wundrous Society figure, Paximus Luck, has gone missing, Morrigan begins to worry, a feeling that gets increased when she is put in only one class, that lasts all day, in which she learns about all the heinous crimes committed by past Wundersmiths. Jupiter makes her feel better and arranges another class for her, about navigating the crazy and "ridiculous" streets of Nevermoor. Later, after an encounter with a group of bullies, Morrigan develops a theory that all the people who have gone missing could have been taken to the Ghastly Market, an illegal black market where can buy things like weapons, or even human beings. The bullies return, and Morrigan accidentally lets out a blast of fire to keep them from hurting her, getting her in major trouble, then banned from Wunsoc campus so she has to take classes at the Hotel Deucalion. Meanwhile, mysterious notes keep appearing for Unit 919, saying that the unit must meet certain demands or they will "reveal the terrible truth about Unit 919." The unit becomes frantic to meet the requests, but eventually blames their misfortune on Morrigan, thinking that the terrible truth is Morrigan's being a Wundersmith. Morrigan has a brief encounter with the Ghastly Market itself, and she discovers that it actually is real. Afterwards, she gets reaccepted back into the society after the staff of the Hotel Deucalion purposefully annoy Professor Onstald throughout his stay. Morrigan gets lost and ends up meeting Squall, who shows her how to control Wunder. On Hallowmas, Squall comes to Morrigan again, telling her that her friends—along with Onstald and the Angel Israfel—are in danger of being sold on the Ghastly Market. Morrigan and Hawthorne save them, but Onstald stays behind, sacrificing himself so the others can survive. Later, at a Wundrous Society gathering, Morrigan reveals herself as a Wundersmith as per the last of blackmail demand, and the Elders reveal that the blackmailing was all a test to see if Morrigan ould work together will the rest of Unit 919 well.

On the last day of their first year in the Wundrous Society, the members of Unit 919 partake in a class called Containment & Distraction, as an intro to the harder class they will have to take the following year. Later, across the time of about a month, Wunimals begin attacking, including a time when Morrigan spends time with Hawthorne at a parade. Afterwords, Fenestra picks Morrigan up and she senses her acting unusual. At a Christmas dinner, Dame Chanda Kali reveals that her favorite fashion designer was a Wunimal who looked similar, and the hotel staff–Morrigan included—begin to worry. Later, during her first day of school of the New Year, a new teacher, Rosenfeld, confronts Morrigan and takes her to the School of Wundrous Arts, where anyone can train in skills like Professor Onstald's to stop time, and learn about Wundersmiths. Morrigan meets her fellow students, Conall and Sofia. Later, Morrigan is threatened by a rabid Bearwun and Dame Chanda Kali is attacked by a Horsewun. Morrigan keeps noticing a strange green light in their eyes as they go crazy. Dame Chanda explains that only a few decades ago, Wunimals were treated as less than human, as if they had the intelligence of a common house pet. In the Wundrous Society, Wunimals are warned of the virus that infects only them, causing them to act aggressively and become catatonic and "hollow," which is also dubbed "Hollowpox." When the society's condition worsens, Jupiter and Jack are put to work using their Witness powers to find infected Wunimals. Meanwhile, Unit 919 is forced to continue classes, with Morrigan retreating more and more often to the School of Wundrous Arts, where she finds a book, The Book of Ghostly Hours, where she can relive experiences and lessons of Wundersmiths of the past, who really weren't all evil. Gideon Steed, an anti-Wunimal rights senator, begins pounding the Wunimals in the press, saying they should be locked up together or banned from city establishment, much to Morrigan, Jupiter, and the rest of the Hotel Deucalion staff’s horror. When Morrigan accidentally reveals her Wundersmith abilities to the non-Wundrous Society public, Steed switches to her, provoking newspapers to claim that she is not an actual Wundersmith, and offers a large reward to anybody who can photograph her using her abilities. Morrigan tracks Hollowpox back to President Wintersea from the Wintersea Republic, named Maud Lowry. Lowry admits that her state has developed a Hollowpox cure, and promises Morrigan that she will try to distribute the cure across Nevermoor and the Free State, but Squall comes to her and warns him that Lowry was the one who commissioned his to create the virus. He helps Morrigan destroy the virus, and some of the Wunimals wake up.

• Morrigan Crow is the main character of the series. She was born on Eventide, the first day of a "new age" in the Wintersea Republic, where she grew up. The people in the city considered her cursed, as during every new age in the Wintersea Republic, Wundersmith Ezra Squall secretly sends out his skeletal Hunt of Smoke and Shadow to kill every cursed child, as they are Wundersmiths too and he is scared that they will use up all his precious Wunder. Morrigan's family resents her for her curse, especially her father, a powerful politician who sees Morrigan as a burden on his career. Upon becoming part of the Wundrous Society's Unit 919, Morrigan feels she does not fit in with the rest of the unit when they start acting strangely around her.
• Jupiter North rescues Morrigan from her terrible fate on Eventide. He is a member of the Wundrous Society, and often goes on adventures as a part of the League of Explorerers. In Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, Jupiter is forced to attend these missions more frequently, and he feels bad that he is not around for Morrigan. Jupiter is the uncle of Jack Arjuna Korrapati, and is the owner or the Deucalion Hotel, where he works and lives. Jupiter is a Witness, meaning that his knack allows him to see the truth in everything he sees or hears.
• Hawthorne Swift is Morrigan's best friend in books two and three and towards the end of book one. Hawthorne meets Morrigan through the Wundrous Society's trials, in which he also competes. As a dragon rider, Hawthorne was immediately accepted into the society after the Show Trial after demonstrating his powers to the Elders. Hawthorne has an older brother, by the name of Homer, who took a vow of silence and now wears a blackboard around his neck on which he writes comments and questions for his family to read.
• Ezra Squall is the first Wundersmith, who lived one hundred years ago. He disgraced the name of the Wundersmiths and Nevermoor when he massacred most of the city on Courage Square. Since then, he became somewhat of an immortal monster, forever gathering forces to invade the city from which he was banished. In Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, after Morrigan is accepted into the Wundrous Society, Squall comes to her and tells her she is a Wundersmith. Following that, Squall tries to get Morrigan to join him and let him train her, but after a few lessons from the madman, she opts to take Squall's advice and learn the Wretched Arts, but instead chooses to learn them from her Wundrous Society teacher, the Scholar Mistress.
• Corvus Crow is Morrigan's father from the Wintersea Republic. As an important political figure who often represented the country, Corvus saw Morrigan as a nuisance and bad luck for his career. In the beginning of Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Corvus cannot wait for Eventide when Morrigan is destined to die so that his life can be back to normal. After Morrigan's mother's death, Corvus remarries. He and his new wife, Ivy Crow (née unknown), have twins, Guntram and Wolfram, whom Morrigan sees when she visits Wintersea later in the book.
• John Arjuna Korrapati is Jupiter's nephew who prefers to go by the name of Jack. In Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, he comes to stay with his uncle at the Hotel Deucalion and immediately takes a disliking to the girl. However, near the end of the book, Jack and Morrigan are able to kindle a friendship. Jack is a Witness, like Jupiter, and is able to see the truth in everything. In book two, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, Jack gives Morrigan a magical way to contact him in times of need, which Morrigan readily uses during her time in the Ghastly Market.
• Fenestra is a giant cat, known as a Magnificat, who is also the head of housekeeping at the Hotel Deucalion. In the Wintersea Republic, Morrigan has seen Magnificats, however she is amazed upon her arrival at Nevermoor to learn that a specific few of them are sentient, and can actually talk. Morrigan also uses Fenestra as her steed in the Chase Trial in book one.
• Dame Chanda Kali is a singer who has taken up a permanent residence in the Hotel Deucalion. She is a friend of Jupiter, and Morrigan, upon her arrival in Nevermoor. She gives Morrigan advice and helps her along her path in the first book, and appears minimally in the next two installments. Her knack lets her control animals with her beautiful singing voice.
• Cadence Blackburn is a mesmerist whom Morrigan first meets during the Chase Trial. In the trial, Cadence is knocked off her steed. Morrigan, who fears that Cadence will be trampled, goes against Fenestra's wishes and helps Cadence back on to her steed. However Cadence steals the prize from Morrigan, who comes to hate the girl. Morrigan encounters her again during the Fright Trial, and then at the Show Trial when both girls are accepted into the Wundrous Society and then become friends. Morrigan also rescues Cadence from the Ghastly Market, where she is about to be illegally sold. Being a mesmerist, Cadence is hardly ever remembered by the other members of Unit 919 until they get used to her spells, and only Morrigan is initially immune.
• Noelle Devereaux is a young girl participating in the trials who is mean to both Cadence and Morrigan. Her patron is Baz Charlton, like Cadence, however unlike her teammate, she does not become a member of the Wundrous Society after the trials and becomes infuriated because of it. Noelle does not appear in books two and three.
• Inspector Flintlock is a detective who is constantly trying to get Morrigan deported back to the Wintersea Republic throughout Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. Flintlock is stopped by Jupiter, who promises Elder Quinn that he will be able to find nine signatories to nullify Flintlock's charges, which he accomplishes in book two.
• Angel Israfel is a singer whose voice, if listened to, will make the rest of one's life seem anticlimactic. He serves as the ninth signatory for the papers that allow Morrigan to stay in Nevermoor, and was also captured by the Ghastly Market to be sold; however he escaped when Morrigan and Cadence brought down the establishment.
• Marina Cheery is the conductor of Unit 919's hometrain which leads directly from their houses to the Wunsoc campus. She "lives up to her name," according to Morrigan. Though introduced in book two, Miss Cheery, as she has the members of the unit call her, also appears in book three as a sort of homeroom teacher for the students.
• Hemingway Q. Onstald is a teacher in the Wundrous Society who is a Wunnimal, meaning he is part human and part animal. He has the shell of a tortoise, as well as being incredibly slow. Onstald tries to convince Morrigan that every single Wundersmith (in addition to herself) is evil and beyond saving; however he was wrong and closed-minded, and ended up sacrificing himself for Morrigan at the Ghastly Market. Onstald is a Timekeeper, which means his knack allows him to slow down time for short periods.
• Mr. Mildmay is another teacher and a member of the Wundrous Society who teaches the members of Unit 919 in his class how to navigate the city of Nevermoor. The entire class warms up to him until he is revealed to be a minion of Ezra Squall, working to find Morrigan. Mr. Mildmay, or simply Mildmay, was teased by his unit for being weak and liking maps.

In addition to the main characters, a wide variety of supporting characters have been introduced throughout the series as well. Hawthorne's patron and Cadence's patron are respectively named Nan Dawson and Baz Charlton, the latter of which has been described as a "spaghetti patron" in the book due to the fact that he usually submits multiple contestant into the trials each year in the hopes that at least one of them will get into the Wundrous Society. Five of Charlton's patrons in the society have formed the group of bullies called the Charlton Five, and they plague Morrigan throughout the second book in the series. Heliose and Alfie, two members of the group, have been named in the series. Alfie, whose knack allows him to breath underwater, was almost sold to the Ghastly Market, but was able to escape without his power. The other members of Unit 919 besides Morrigan, Hawthorne, and Cadence, include Francis Fitzwilliams, a gastronomist; Mahir Ibrahim, a linguist who teaches the rest of the unit curse words in other languages; Thaddea Macleod, a skilled fighter; Lambeth Amara, a short-range oracle who was almost sold to the Ghastly Market and is really a citizen of the Wintersea Republic named Lamya Bethari Amati Ra; Anah Kahlo, a healer and doctor; and Archan Tate, a pickpocket who often impressed the other members of the group. All nine members of Unit 919 are blackmailed in Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow. The hotel staff includes not only Fenestra, but Frank, a vampire dwarf in charge of cooking and party planning at the hotel, and Martha, a human who is a housemaid and a friend of Frank. One concierge is named Kedgeree, and is an older man who takes a liking to Morrigan.

Gavin Squires, a member of the Wundrous Society who likes animals, and Holliday Wu, a part of the Public Distraction Department, appear in Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow to gather a task force to hunt down the Nevermoorian Scaly Beast and to keep the public calm while doing this, respectively. Hawthorne's family, who appear in books two and three at Hallowmas and Christmas parades, respectively, and minor characters the story. The family includes patriarch Dave Swift, his wife, Cat Swift, their oldest daughter, Helena, their second child, Homer, who took a vow of silence at a young age and only speaks one day a year, communicating through writing the rest of the time instead, Hawthorn himself, and Davina, also known as Baby Dave, a toddler. Rook Rosenfeld is the Scholar Mistres of the School of Wundrous Arts (other students including Conall and Sofia, who eventually succumbs to Hollowpox). Gideon Steed is an anti-Wunimal senator who is mean to Hollowpox-infected Wunimals and Morrigan in the press. Maud Lowry is the president of the Wintersea Republic, where Morrigan lived. She is an antagonist in the third book. In addition, multiple past Wundersmiths appear in visions Morrigan has through The Book of Ghostly Hours in the School of Wundrous Arts.