History Literature / Nevermoor

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Baz Charlton and Inspector Flintlock, two of the most despicable characters, openly dislike and are prejudiced against immigrants, especially those that crossed the border illegally. (Never mind if they were forced to do so, or if it was a life-or-death situation.)
* {{Polyglot}}: Mahir's knack is that he's an expert linguist, speaking over fifty languages by the time he's eleven.

* PragmaticVillainy:
** [[spoiler:Squall created the Hollowpox, but he also knows how to cure it. Not out of some sort of change of heart, but because he has enough common sense to not create a weapon he can't adequately combat, thus putting him in a tight spot he can't get out of. The cure for Hollowpox is also a ''very'' handy bargaining chip.]]
** [[spoiler:He works for Wintersea not out of loyalty to her or her party--he doesn't like her and is even afraid of her--but because she's the president, and if you're trying to establish yourself and flourish in a new country, pissing off the president isn't really the way to go about it.]]
** [[spoiler:On the flipside, he works with Morrigan to prevent Wintersea from entering Nevermoor, because he knows she wishes to take over the Free State. And if she takes over, how can ''he'' take over? (On a more serious note, he genuinely doesn't want to see Nevermoor destroyed, and he fully believes that's what will happen if Wintersea is allowed to enter the city.)]]

** Jupiter is an entirely straight example, using his position of privilege to protect those under his care, and fighting tooth and nail to make Nevermoor a better place for everyone.
** Miss Cheery is a kind and open-minded young woman who does all she can to protect Unit 919, Morrigan included. She also gets over the shock of Morrigan being a Wundersmith rather quickly.
** Miss Murgatroyd plays with this, in that she's a spiteful SadistTeacher, but she also realizes Morrigan needs to be educated on her abilities, and that treating her like a threat will only make it more likely she'll ''actually'' become one.
** The Elders zig-zag like crazy. [[spoiler:The way Wunsoc has been run for centuries values the preservation of Wunsoc above all else, meaning they're ready and willing to throw Morrigan to the wolves if it'll benefit them. However, they ''individually'' don't seem like they're necessarily bad people.]]
** [[spoiler:Mr. Mildmay is a subversion, at first seeming like a CoolTeacher before revealing himself to be anything ''but''.]]
** [[spoiler:President Wintersea is a subversion. She's very polite, seems to like Morrigan, and is willing to negotiate a peace in order to share a cure for the Hollowpox with the Free State... except she's behind the creation of the Hollowpox in the first place, and only wishes to exploit the situation to be allowed to cross into the Free State and take over.]]
* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: It's revealed in the second book that [[spoiler:Lambeth is actually a Princess from the Royal House of Ra, and comes from Far East Sang in the Wintersea Republic. She keeps her royal status hidden because as a citizen of the Republic she's not even supposed to ''know'' about Nevermoor, much less go to school there.]]

* RepetitiveName: Subtly done with Morrigan's father, Corvus Crow. "Corvus" is the Latin word for "crow," meaning his name is essentially Crow Crow.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:Mildmay pays very dearly for betraying Wunsoc, as Squall doesn't hesitate to turn on him the second he proves himself more trouble than he's worth.]]
* SadistTeacher:
** Professor Onstald firmly believes all Wundersmiths are inherently evil, and makes sure Morrigan knows that she'll become evil, too. [[spoiler:Then you find out he was deliberately ''lying'' about many of the Wundersmiths' so-called evil acts, meaning he can't even claim ignorance for his horrible bigotry.]]
** Murgatroyd has a reputation as this, and while all students are rightfully terrified of her, she's actually one of the more reasonable people at Wunsoc where Morrigan's education is concerned.

* SecretSecretKeeper: Jack found out Morrigan was a Wundersmith before even ''she'' knew it, because he saw her without his eyepatch on and could see the Wunder gathered around her. Jupiter made him promise to keep his mouth shut.
* {{Seers}}: Lambeth's knack is that she can predict the future... but only a few seconds ahead, and she can't control when it happens. Still, it does worlds of good in action sequences, when knowing you need to ''get the heck out of the way'' three seconds in advance can be the difference between life and death. It also comes in handy when [[MundaneUtility warning your friends that a door's about to open and they'll hit their head if they don't move]].

* SleazyPolitician: Morrigan's father Corvus is a Chancellor in the Wintersea Republic, and a complete tool, treating his assistants like dirt and always looking for a way to boost his approval ratings. Despite being a terrible person, he doesn't actually seem to be corrupt, however, if only because we have yet to see him at work.

* SpellMyNameWithAThe: The BigBad of this series is known as ''The'' Wundersmith. He's so infamous and so powerful, he eclipses every other Wundersmith that ever lived -- unfortunately.
* StepfordSnarker:
** Morrigan, probably as a result of her upbringing. If she's nervous, troubled or upset, she tends to get sarcastic.
** Cadence too seems to use snark mainly as a defense mechanism and a reaction to the fact that people tend to ignore her or forget she's there.
* SupremeChef:
** Francis is a spectacular cook, enough to get him into Wunsoc. Morrigan and the others love sampling whatever he's cooking.
** Downplayed compared to Francis, but Martha is also noted to be a great cook.

* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:The only thing Morrigan misses from her old life at Crow Manor is her toy bunny, Emmett, who she's had since she's a baby. It turns out that it used to belong to her mother, too. Jupiter gets it back for her.]]
* TranquilFury: Jupiter doesn't lose his temper and fly off the handle, but if he gives you a DeathGlare and begins talking very calmly and quietly, ''run''.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Mildmay is last seen fleeing the Ghastly Market, with Squall promising he'll "take care of him." The next day, all the Elders know is that Mildmay is on the run, but given who's after him, it seems unlikely he survived for much longer.]]

* UpperClassTwit: Henry Mildmay is introduced as a sympathetic version of this; he speaks in a "posh" voice and seems not very together, but he's earnest and enthusiastic. [[spoiler: He also turns out to be in league with the bad guys.]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[spoiler:Morrigan's stunned when she visits various Ghostly Hours to learn the Wundrous Arts, and sees Ezra Squall as a student, just like her. She's even more stunned when his past self doesn't seem evil or angry at all; he just seems like a normal, happy kid. It gets very hard for her to think of Ezra, the boy and Squall, the monster, as the same person, even though she knows they are.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler:What Squall says to Morrigan about people not understanding Wundersmiths' gifts to the world is actually true--most of the "evil" acts Onstald told Morrigan about were actually benevolent (or neutral) upon further inspection. Not that Squall [[NotHelpingYourCase helps his own case much]]... He also turns out to be dead-on when he says Wunsoc will throw Morrigan under the bus one moment and then expect her to be a hero the next, all depending on what's most useful at the time. As he puts it, "Wundersmiths get all of the blame and none of the credit."]]
* VillainsNeverLie: A variant. Squall lies like ''crazy'', and he admits as much to Morrigan... but he insists he has never lied ''to her''.
* VillainRespect: Squall seems genuinely pleased whenever Morrigan displays control over Wunder or does something impressive, mostly because he sees a reflection of himself in her.
* VillainTakesAnInterest: Squall's entire plan seems to hinge on getting Morrigan to agree to be his apprentice and heir. ''Why'' he chose her, out of the dozens of Wundersmith children who have been born since his exile, is a mystery.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity:
** In the Wintersea Republic, Ezra Squall is the founder of Squall Industries, which powers the world with Wunder, and one of the richest and most influential men in the country. They have no idea of his bloody past (and present).
** [[spoiler:President Wintersea is thought of as a fair-minded and sensible politician, when in reality she's a power-hungry bigot.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: In the third book, Cadence calls Morrigan out on neglecting her friends in favor of her studies, and asking her to use her mesmerism to help her steal a book. However, she's quick to forgive when Morrigan apologizes, and admits she understands why Morrigan's so fixated on her work at Sub-Nine.
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Mildmay's super-impressive ability that got him into the Wundrous Society is... he makes really awesome maps! It's actually a very ''[[BoringButPractical useful]]'' skill, but it lacks a certain "wow" factor, and he's noticeably annoyed by this.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Ezra Squall is ''very'' fond of telling Morrigan this... in fact, he makes no secret that as far as he's concerned it's inevitable that she'll join his side.
* TheWonka: Jupiter North, who has been described as "part [[Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Willy Wonka]] and part [[Franchise/HarryPotter Arthur Weasley]]," is an EccentricMentor to the extreme, and he says and does so many nonsensical things that he comes across as a total lunatic... but he's one of Nevermoor's greatest heroes, he's a brilliant employer and authority figure to the staff of the Hotel Deucalion, and 95% of the time he's in total (or at least almost total) control of the situation. (The 5% of the time when he's ''not'' in control of the situation tends to be Wundersmith-related, because even Jupiter can't stand up to a Wundersmith... and unlike Morrigan he isn't ImmuneToMindControl.)

* WouldHurtAChild:
** In a roundabout way, Flintlock has no moral issue deporting a child, even though everyone is telling him she'll be killed if she can't claim asylum in Nevermoor.
** [[spoiler:Squall has been killing the children born on Eventide for years, so they don't take too much Wunder. Even Morrigan, whom he decided to spare, he has no issue terrifying and bullying.]]

-->''Hear me when I say this: you are not a curse on anyone, Morrigan Crow.''
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Ezra Squall is banished from the Free State, which angers him because he considers it, specifically Nevermoor, to be his home. He'd give anything to return, and has been visiting on the Gossamer for years.

* DidYouThinkICantFeel: Both Cadence and Morrigan, due to the effects of their respective powers, have to deal with people acting like they don't have feelings and aren't affected by the way everyone else treats them.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind:
** The Wundersmith, the murderer behind the Courage Square Massacre, and the true head of Squall Industries, is in fact "Mr. Jones," who had been politely conversing with Morrigan for the entire first book.
** [[spoiler:The mole inside Wunsoc is the scatterbrained first-year teacher, Mr. Mildmay.]]

* DragonTamer: Hawthorne's knack is [[DragonRider dragonriding]], but when he gets into the Wundrous Society, his classes and sponsor aim to expand his skillset to encompass far more; he also has to take lessons in dragons' culture and their language. As his mentor Nan points out, being able to train a dragon to let you ride it is all well and good, but being able to actually talk with one can be infinitely more useful in some situations.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Squall works for President Wintersea, but he's not happy with the situation, and seems to ally with her because he knows it's [[PragmaticVillainy the best way to ensure his safety in the Republic]]. His own personal goal is to return to Nevermoor and take over; anything he does for her is incidental, and he'll try and run interference if her goals directly oppose his own]].
* EccentricArtist: Frank, the hotel's party planner. If he wasn't a vampire, you might say he lived and breathed party planning -- but since a vampire isn't technically alive and doesn't breathe, he's just incredibly obsessed with his job. His parties are generally highly unconventional, incredibly expensive... and usually spectacular successes.
* EccentricMentor: Jupiter North probably isn't the most conventional of mentors, and especially early on Morrigan often wonders about his sanity.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Crossed with PragmaticVillainy, but [[spoiler:Squall helps Morrigan prevent President Wintersea from entering the Free State not because he morally objects to her bigotry and power-hunger, but because he genuinely fears her actions will lead to Nevermoor's destruction. He wants to take over, and does genuinely see the city as his home, so he has personal reasons for wanting her to be thwarted.]]
* EvilIsNotAToy: [[spoiler:Sure, Mildmay. Betray Wunsoc to work with someone who is referred to as "the evilest man to ever live," and then go against his orders to pocket more money for yourself. That won't backfire on you at all.]]
* EvilMentor: Ezra Squall wants to be this to Morrigan, but she's not on board. [[spoiler:''Hollowpox'' complicates this dynamic a bit; Squall doesn't want Morrigan to ''resign'' herself to working with him, he wants her to ''want'' to. And some part of her ''does'' want to. Evil or not, Ezra is by far the most useful and qualified of the mentors she's got to teach her anything about Wunder.]]
* EyepatchOfPower: Jack sports one, though it's actually an Eyepatch of Power ''Dampening'', as wearing it cancels out Jack's Seer talent and keeps him from sensory overload.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Ezra Squall is polite and even amiable to a degree, but get in his way, or annoy him, or just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you'll soon be reminded that he's a complete sociopath and a mass murderer.

* FlipPersonality: It's not always clear ''when'' Dearborn/Murgatroyd will change into the other, but it's always obvious once it happens.

* FreudianExcuse: Set up and [[{{Subverted}} instantly demolished]] in one page with [[spoiler:Mildmay. He claims he worked for Squall as a means of proving himself after a lifetime of being overlooked and mocked... but Squall immediately shuts that down and says he's just plain greedy and was in it for a paycheck. Mildmay doesn't deny this.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Baz Charlton is disliked by everyone in Wunsoc, save for a few of his candidates, for being an obnoxious, bigoted, loudmouthed boor. He's the only person Jupiter is openly rude to, and even his latest candidate, Cadence, utterly despises him.

* TheGadfly: Cadence, who often uses her hypnotic abilities to screw people over or have them make fools of themselves purely because she thinks it's funny.

* HateSink: Inspector Flintlock, the police inspector who gleefully pursues Morrigan to have her deported because he ''despises'' "outsiders." The author has even admitted that he's the one character she's written without any kind of redeeming traits.
* HeroWithBadPublicity:
** Morrigan gets a lot of shit, despite the fact that she's a consistently good-hearted and heroic character who repeatedly puts her neck on the line to help others. First it's due to being cursed and thus allegedly BornUnlucky, then it's due to the (true) rumors that she's an illegal immigrant, and then it's because she's a Wundersmith. To be fair, many characters change their opinion when they actually get to know her. [[spoiler:In the third book, the Elders actually weaponize this, outing her as a Wundersmith to the public in order to distract the public from the Hollowpox crisis.]]
** This happens to Wundersmiths in general, thanks to Squall's actions. One example is Odbuoy Jemmity, the creator of Jemmity Park. He's remembered as a selfish bastard who built a wonderful amusement park, but then enchanted it so no one could get inside. This version of the story misses some very important context. When he found out the man who commissioned him to build the park had knocked down several flats in a low-income area to make room for it, and intended to charge so much for tickets that none of the locals could possibly afford to go, he was genuinely pissed on the residents' behalf, and decided to make things up to them; the park doesn't let anyone in... ''unless'' you are a child who lives in the neighborhood, in which case you get to go in free of charge. The park turned no profit for the cruel and greedy man who commissioned it, but instead became a [[{{Pun}} wunderful]] gift for the children in the area, which they still enjoy to this day. Morrigan is very happy indeed when she realizes Jemmity was actually a nice person.

* ImmuneToMindControl: Morrigan, probably thanks to being a Wundersmith, is the only person who's almost completely immune to Cadence's mesmerism. She ''does'' have a tendency to forget her name early on, but unlike pretty much anyone else she never forgets that Cadence exists, and is not affected by her JediMindTrick.
* ImpossibleThief: Arch can steal anything off anyone.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Due to not growing up in Nevermoor, Morrigan sometimes misunderstands or says something ignorant about the politics there, especially where Wunimals are concerned, but it's never out of malice and she always tries to do better after being corrected. In the second book, it's mentioned that she accidentally seriously offended a bearwun by calling him a bear. By the third, she's always the first to correct someone who does the same.

* JediMindTrick: Cadence, as a mesmerist, can do this almost effortlessly. People of strong will might be able to resist slightly, but very few people are immune to it.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: There are a few examples here.
** Fenestra does a good CatsAreMean impression, but she's very loyal to Jupiter and comes to genuinely care for Morrigan.
** Jupiter's nephew Jack is a bit of a grouch, but he ultimately means well.
** Cadence is haughty, aloof and self-centered, and is prone to using her hypnotic abilities to {{Troll}} people or even get away with petty criminal acts... but she has a conscience, she cares about doing the right thing, and she is the first of Unit 919 apart from Hawthorne to befriend Morrigan.
** Thaddea has a nasty temper and is quick to {{Jerkass}}ery, especially towards Morrigan, but she has a strong sense of honor and is very loyal.
* TheJinx: Everyone in the Wintersea Republic is ''convinced'' that this is the case with cursed children like Morrigan, who tend to get the blame for everything that goes wrong. Even early in the book, Morrigan expects that some of the things she's blamed for isn't actually her fault, it's just that people like having a convenient scapegoat. [[spoiler:Turns out ''none'' of it is her fault and cursed children aren't unlucky at all; it's all propaganda and fear mongering.]]
* KingIncognito: Ezra Squall is well-known in the Wintersea Republic, but never seen, being the faceless mastermind behind Squall Industries. This allows him to go out in public as his own assistant, "Mr. Jones," with no trouble.
* LackOfEmpathy:
** Inspector Flintlock, at least when it comes to immigrants--he seems to view them as less than people, for the crime of... being born in another location and coming to Nevermoor to seek a better life.
** Squall is out purely for himself and his own self-interest, and repeatedly emphasizes that he has no real emotional connection to anyone. His VillainRespect for Morrigan is born mostly of seeing his own traits in her, and he wishes to shape her in his image with little to no regard for her feelings on the matter. [[spoiler:He also says that while he did create the Hollowpox to exterminate Wunimals, he also didn't do it because he hates them--he did it because President Wintersea asked him to, and when the most powerful person in the world gives you an order, you do what you're told, and you don't half-ass it. He has no moral objection to the Wunimal population being wiped out, but he also doesn't actively hate them enough to ''want'' to see it happen. He just simply ''does not care'' one way or another.]]
** [[spoiler:Mildmay ''must'' be severely lacking in the empathy department to be able to work closely with a group of children for a whole year, caring for them and teaching them and having them look up to him, only to be able to sell some of them to the Ghastly Market without blinking.]]
* LittleMissSnarker: Both Morrigan and Cadence fall firmly into this; their young age does ''nothing'' to slow down their snark -- especially not when they both hang out with Hawthorne, who is an even bigger snarker. Especially in the second book they form a sort of MouthyKid trio.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Morrigan's father, Corvus, has no clue she's alive, or that the Free State even exists. Given that he treated her like dirt the entire time she lived with him, she doesn't lose too much sleep over it.

* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Squall created the Hollowpox, just as Morrigan expected, but it wasn't his idea; he was hired to do so by President Wintersea as an attempted genocide against Wunimals.]]
* ManipulativeBastard:
** Ezra Squall's main mode of operation. He can't physically enter Nevermoor himself, but he ''can'' manipulate and influence people and events.
** The Elders have a tendency to make people do what they want them to do, without actually coming out and explaining anything.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that every member of the Wundrous Society is trained to be one of these, because the society exists to "contain and distract" people from the horrors that some wundersmiths made in the past.]]
** [[spoiler:President Wintersea successfully manipulates Morrigan, using the promise of a cure for Hollowpox to persuade her to help her get into Nevermoor. It's only when she realizes Wintersea is aligned with ''Squall Industries'' that she realizes her mistake--and Squall himself has to help her out of it.]]
* TheMedic: Anah's knack is great medical knowledge, to the point that she can safely remove someone's appendix and put it back at the age of ''eleven''. Much of her time at Wunsoc is spent helping out around the infirmary.
* MeaningfulName:
** Morrigan shares her name with an Irish goddess of war and death, who took the form of a ''crow''.
** "Squall" is a word for a sudden, violent gust of wind and rain, [[spoiler:hinting at Ezra Squall's true nature]].
** "Ezra" means help/helper in Hebrew. Ezra Squall wants to help Morrigan (and himself) by making her his apprentice. [[spoiler:This doesn't entirely go away when it's revealed he's the BigBad, though there is definitely a dash of IronicName in there.]]
** You'll never guess what Miss Cheery's general disposition is.

* MindHive: Dearborn and Murgatroyd, the Scholar Headmistresses of the Schools of the Mundane and Arcane, respectively, are, essentially, two people sharing a body. [[spoiler:In the third book, we meet Rook, who is the Scholar Headmistress of the School of the Wundrous. She admits even they don't really know how it works--she's never even "met" Dearborn, who doesn't seem to know she exists yet--but implies there are potentially others lurking inside them.]]
* NaughtyIsGood: Hawthorne is an irrepressible mischief-maker, prankster and rulebreaker who doesn't take schoolwork very seriously and often gets into trouble, but he is without question the friendliest and most steadfastly loyal person in the series.
* NewAbilityAddiction: After beginning to learn how to use Wunder, Morrigan takes very well to it, and finds that, while the potential damage it can cause frightens her, she's eager to learn more and utilize it as much as possible. [[spoiler:This drives her to accept Squall as a mentor at the end of the third book. She wants to learn as much as she can, and he has a world of knowledge to offer.]]
* NiceGuy:
** Hawthorne is a sweet, loyal friend who always has a kind word for Morrigan... or if he snarks at her it's good-natured.
** Morrigan herself is a kindhearted young lady, even through all her snark.
** Jupiter is a caring and protective mentor who gives Morrigan some much-needed support.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Normally, Squall is perfectly calm, polite, and regards Morrigan's questions with annoyance or amusement, but he does usually answer them. [[spoiler:In ''Hollowpox'', we see him lose his cool for the first time when Morrigan asks him why he killed his friends, people who trusted him. He doesn't actually answer, but visibly loses his temper, snarling, "Wundersmiths don't have friends." We don't know why yet, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion but it's obvious that this particular question really got to him]] for some reason.]]
** [[spoiler:In the same book, he asks Morrigan to help him stop Wintersea from crossing into the Free State, even though he could cross over with her. Since they both know he would do ''anything'' to be able to return to his beloved Nevermoor, Morrigan realizes he must really mean it, and Wintersea must be ''bad''.]]
--->''There were things about Squall that frightened her, but nothing so much as this. Nothing he'd ever said or done was as terrifying to Morrigan... [[spoiler:as seeing him so frightened]].''

* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:When Morrigan meets President Wintersea, she insists on being called by her first name, Maud, and encourages Morrigan to speak openly and not apologize so much. She even seems willing to help Nevermoor with its Hollowpox problem, making her a President Personable... except no, she's PresidentEvil.]]
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Jupiter's party planner is a vampire dwarf (''not,'' as he'll insist, a "dwarf vampire") named Frank. He's more a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire than anything; rather moody but his parties are ''spectacular.''

* ParentalSubstitute: Though Jupiter's role as a captain in the Wundrous Society keeps him busy, and he sometimes keeps a few too many secrets, he soon becomes like a father figure to Morrigan. Particularly in ''Wundersmith'' their interactions take on a father-daughter tone.

* PersonaNonGrata: The Courage Square Massacre got Squall banned from the Free State, being physically unable to cross the border. He now resides in the Wintersea Republic, trying to find a way to cross back over.
* PetTheDog:
** Cadence gets a lot of them towards Morrigan. It's thanks to her interference that Flintlock is unable to deport Morrigan at the end of the first book, and in the third book, she "borrows" a puppy and brings it with her when she visits Morrigan in the hospital, since she thought she would like it.
** Heloise is a bully and a complete brat, but she does genuinely love her boyfriend Alfie, and is devastated when he goes missing. [[spoiler:She's also extremely upset by his ordeal at the hands of the Ghastly Market.]]
** Squall ''might'' have attempted this when [[spoiler:he kidnaps Onstald and Alfie to have their knacks sold at the Ghastly Market, since they've both treated Morrigan terribly. He thought she'd be pleased to see them suffer, not understanding that, no matter how much she dislikes someone, she wouldn't wish ''that'' on them. It's a little murky whether he would've kidnapped them anyway.]]
** The real example from Squall is when [[spoiler:he chooses not to hold her to her promise to become his apprentice at the end of the third book. Morrigan agreed to let him mentor her in exchange for his help with the Hollowpox, and he held up his end of the deal. Despite this, he doesn't force Morrigan to hold up hers, since he wants her to work with him of her own free will, not because she feels obligated.]]

* AbusiveParents: Downplayed with Morrigan's father Corvus and stepmother Ivy. They're not physically abusive, and not ''really'' verbally abusive either, but they are ''terrible'' parents to Morrigan, neglectful and unloving and with a tendency to ignore her. Ivy seems to barely consider Morrigan a real person, and Corvus isn't shy about saying that he views her as a burden more than anything.
** It's hinted that this attitude is mostly a reaction to thinking Morrigan would die young thanks to the curse and not wanting to get attatched to someone they knew they were going to lose before long. Particularly Corvus seems to have taken this view, as his first wife died giving birth to Morrigan, and he found it easier thinking of Morrigan as though she was already dead and the girl who lived in his house was just a manifestation of the curse that killed his wife and daughter.
** They avert the trope when it comes to Morrigan's newborn half-brothers, Guntram and Wolfram. When Morrigan briefly re-visits her family without their knowledge late in the first book, she finds that both Corvus and Ivy dote on the twin babies and show them all the love and affection they never showed Morrigan. She takes it remarkably well.
* ActionGirl: Thaddea Macleod, or "Thaddea No-Retreat of Clan Macleod, daughter of Mary the Heart-Eater and Malcolm the Mellow, granddaughter of Deirdre the Deathbringer, great-granddaughter of Eileen Never-Surrender, great-great-granddaughter of Ailsa the Tetchy, great-great-great granddaughter of Betty One-Kick," is a BraveScot version of this. If there's a fight going on and Thaddea isn't in the middle of it, you can bet she's doing everything she can to ''get'' in the middle of it.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Henry Mildmay]] is a genial, friendly and EndearinglyDorky man who genuinely gets along with Unit 919. He's also secretly working for the bad guys.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Cadence is this, largely because her nature as a mesmerist means people have a tendency to ignore or forget her. Over the course of the two books, she proves to have more of a SugarAndIce personality, with the "sugar" part becoming more prominent as she becomes friends with Morrigan and Hawthorne.
* AlphaBitch: Noelle Devereaux, Baz Charlton's star candidate, is a classic example during the trials. She's one of the favorites to win, she's haughty and snobbish and always surrounded by admiring girls who laugh at all her snide remarks.

* AscendedExtra:
** Cadence is a pivotal but relatively minor player in the first book, but goes on to become a main character after she and Morrigan both get into Wunsoc.
** Apart from Hawthorne and Cadence, most of Unit 919 are fairly minor characters in the second book, largely because most of them are avoiding Morrigan. In the third book, where they're on much better terms, they all get quite a bit more screen time and attention -- Thaddea and Anah especially.

* TheBadGuysAreCops: Inspector Flintlock is a StarterVillain for the first book, and represents a problem in Nevermoorian law enforcement and society as a whole: institutional, legally-backed bigotry.
* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: [[spoiler:Onstald didn't always loathe Wundersmiths. He used to ''love'' them, and be desperate to learn about and preserve the Wundrous Arts. Even his former friends on Sub-Nine don't know what happened to make him do a complete 180, but Sofia figures it must have been something terrible.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Cadence warms up to Morrigan because Morrigan, unlike nearly everybody else, isn't affected by her powers and thus remembers who she is.
* BigEater: Hawthorne is always hungry, especially if sweets are involved.
* BigotWithABadge: Inspector Flintlock is a law enforcement officer who loathes immigrants and spends most of the first book harassing the protagonist Morrigan and trying to find even the slightest excuse to deport her. He says he just hates illegal immigrants, but his attitude and actions give the impression he's just a xenophobe who hides behind the law and his badge to justify it. (This is enforced by the fact that he has no empathy for illegal immigrants who came to Nevermoor because their lives were endangered, even when they're children. Furthermore, the laws have made it damn near impossible to immigrate legally, and he sees no problem with this.) He's obviously meant to be a critique of anti-immigration policies and xenophobic law enforcement in the real world.
* BirthdayHater: Morrigan really isn't fond of her birthday. Being cursed to drop dead the second you turn eleven years old will do that to you. [[spoiler:Even after she finds out the curse isn't real, she still isn't too keen on birthday celebrations -- though she can't help but enjoy herself when everyone at the hotel throws a surprise party for her when she turns twelve.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Jupiter North is jovial, cheerful, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure to the staff at the Hotel Deucalion, and a caring patron to Morrigan... and he will ''not'' stand for anyone threatening those under his care.
** Anah is a sweet girl who was raised by nuns, to the point that swiping a box of rubber gloves from the infirmary almost makes her sick with guilt. Then she threatens to surgically remove a bully's organs, and makes it clear that she ''could''.
* BlessedWithSuck: Being a Wundersmith was once seen as the best thing that could happen to a child, because of the spectacular power that comes with it. Now, while the power is still a benefit, it also comes with a ton of baggage, suspicion, and most of the population either being terrified of or just plain hating you. Whee!
* BloodKnight: Thaddea ''lives'' for fighting.
* BoringButPractical:
** Mildmay will be the first to admit his mapmaking knack isn't very showy, but it's easily one of the more practical knacks we've seen in the series thus-far.
** To a ''far'' lesser extent, the entire School of Mundane Arts. While talents like pickpocketing, tightrope walking, and [[DragonRider dragonriding]] can hardly be called ''boring'', they are seen as far more common and less spectacular than the supernatural gifts of the School of Arcane Arts. However, since about 80% of Wunsoc falls under the Mundane classification, they have far more manpower and tend to handle the practical day-to-day stuff.
--->'''Miss Cheery:''' Our motto inside Wunsoc is "Just Try Getting On Without Us."
* BornUnlucky: Cursed children are said to be this, acting as magnets for misfortune and doom. Morrigan suspects from the start, though, that a lot of people use her and other cursed children as convenient scapegoats whether the misfortune is actually their fault or not. [[spoiler: Towards the end of the first book, Ezra Squall gleefully reveals that the curse isn't real, and ''none'' of the misfortunes are the cursed children's fault -- people just like having convenient scapegoats.]]
* BrainlessBeauty: Morrigan's stepmother Ivy is very pretty, but rather short on brains. She's not mean to Morrigan so much as totally indifferent to her.
* CardCarryingVillain: Squall makes no bones about the fact that he is a murderer, liar, and all-around bad guy.
* CatsAreSnarkers: Fenestra the Magnificat can't string two sentences together without adding some kind of sarcastic remark. This seems to be a fairly common trait for Magnificats.
* ChekhovsGunman:
** Yeah, I'm sure Mr. Jones from Squall Industries who keeps popping up and seems concerned for Morrigan is just a MrExposition with NO bearing on the plot whatsoever... Surprise! He's the BigBad incognito!
** Cadence is a minor character in the first book who appears briefly before the first Trial, and then helps Morrigan at two crucial moments, which ultimately allow her to pass her Trials and stay in Nevermoor. She then goes on to be one of her best friends in the next books.
** Odbuoy Jemmity is a Wundersmith mentioned a few times in ''Hollowpox'' as the creator of Jemmity Park. [[spoiler:The next book reveals Odbuoy was one of Squall's classmates at Wunsoc, and was personally ''murdered by him'' in the Courage Square Massacre.]]

* CombatClairvoyance: Lambeth can sometimes use her knack this way, using her knowledge of what will happen in five seconds to tell people when they need to move, or what they can do to better their chances. (For example, in the second book, [[spoiler:she sees a vision of fire and a flood, clueing Morrigan in to what's about to go down in the Ghastly Market, and what they need to do to escape]].)
* CompetitionFreak: Thaddea wants to "win" at everything, even if winning isn't really the goal or even possible.
-->'''Morrigan:''' Thaddea, I don't think this is supposed to be a competition.\\
'''Thaddea:''' [[SuddenlyShouting EVERYTHING IS A COMPETITION]].
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: With everything ''else'' he does, it's easy to forget that Squall is also the owner and propetier of Squall Industries, the most powerful company in the entire Wintersea Republic.

* CoolOldLady: Morrigan's grandmother is a [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Woman]] who's only really happy when she's miserable, or preferrably making someone ''else'' miserable... but she ''is'' the only member of Morrigan's family who actually seems to care about her. [[spoiler: Turns out she conspired with Jupiter North to save Morrigan from death, and is the only family member who knows that Morrigan didn't die on her eleventh birthday after all.]]

* DeadpanSnarker: Hawthorne, though the "deadpan" part is optional. Unlike Morrigan and Cadence, he's not a StepfordSnarker; he's a happy-go-lucky kid who's had a good life, and whose talent for snarky quips simply seems to be a family trait -- when we meet his family, we quickly discover that they're all big snarkers too -- [[SilentSnarker even the one who's taken a vow of silence.]]
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:For all his bigotry and horrible actions, Onstald does ultimately die saving Morrigan's life. However, the trope is downplayed and even subverted when Jupiter acknowledges that, while his sacrifice was undeniably selfless and heroic, it still doesn't erase everything he did ''before'' that, and Morrigan is still allowed to be angry at him.]]

A film adaptation has also been announced, with Drew Goddard as writer and producer.

* BoringButPractical: Mildmay will be the first to admit his mapmaking knack isn't very showy, but it's easily one of the more practical knacks we've seen in the series thus-far.

** Odbuoy Jemmity is a Wundersmith mentioned a few times in ''Hollowpox'', first as the creator of Jemmity Park, then by Squall, who snarks that Morrigan can't possibly be a worse singer than he is. [[spoiler:The next book reveals Odbuoy was one of Squall's classmates at Wunsoc, and was personally ''murdered by him'' in the Courage Square Massacre.]]

* LittleMissSnarker: Both Morrigan and Cadence fall firmly into this; their young age does ''nothing'' to slow down their snark.

* LittleMissSnarker: Her young age does ''nothing'' to slow down Morrigan's snark.

* StepfordSnarker: Morrigan, probably as a result of her upbringing. If she's nervous, troubled or upset, she tends to get sarcastic.

* AscendedExtra: Cadence is a pivotal but relatively minor player in the first book, but goes on to become a main character after she and Morrigan both get into Wunsoc.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Henry Mildmay]] is a genial, friendly and dorky man who genuinely gets along with Unit 919. He's also secretly working for the bad guys.

* NotSoDifferent: A constant worry for Morrigan is that as a Wundersmith she's a monster by nature, and when it comes down to it is going to become exactly like Ezra Squall. Ezra, whenever interacting with her (especially in the second book) is very gleeful abut pointing out all the ways she's ''exactly'' like him and how it's her nature as a Wundersmith. Jupiter, however, is firm in his convictions that Wundersmiths are ''not'' all monsters, and that there's no chance that Morrigan will become like Ezra Squall.

* {{Seer}}: Lambeth's knack is that she can predict the future... but only a few seconds ahead, and she can't control when it happens. Still, it does worlds of good in action sequences, when knowing you need to ''get the heck out of the way'' three seconds in advance can be the difference between life and death. It also comes in handy when [[MundaneUtility warning your friends that a door's about to open and they'll hit their head if they don't move]].

** It goes beyond Flintlock; [[RealityEnsues it's an institutional problem, because prejudice in a society goes all the way up and down]]. Many Nevermoorians dislike and distrust the police force for this reason, avoiding calling them when possible and referring to them as "the Stink." Wunsoc's personal law enforcement, the Smoke, is only marginally better.

3. ''Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow'' (2020)

At the time of writing, three books in the Nevermoor series have been published.

3: ''Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow'' (2020)

** Yeah, I'm sure Mr. Jones from Squall Industries who keeps popping up and seems concerned for Morrigan is just a MrExposition with NO bearing on the plot whatsoever...

* TheGift: A person's knack is this for them; something they can do that makes them special and different. Some knacks are physical traits, like being born with gills, while others are supernatural abilities, like Cadence's mesmerism. Others still are mundane skills that theoretically anyone can practice and develop, but some people just happen to be born extraordinarily, unfathomably profeciently at them--such as Anah being able to perform surgery and Arch being an expert pickpocket when they're only eleven. Knacks don't seem to be uncommon in the Free State, but only the most impressive, rare, and powerful knacks will get you into Wunsoc.

** In the Chase trial in the first book, Morrigan gets to ride Fenestra. A gigantic talking cat with the speed of a cheetah is nothing to sneeze at either.

* EccentricArtist: Frank, the hotel's party planner. If he wasn't a vampire, you might say he lived and breathed party planning -- as it is, he's just incredibly obsessed with his job. His parties are generally highly unconventional, incredibly expensive... and usually spectacular successes.

** Jupiter is an entirely straight example, using his position of privilidge to protect those under his care, and fighting tooth and nail to make Nevermoor a better place for everyone.

-->'''Corvus:''' ''[to one of his assistants]'' You might be right.\\
'''Morrigan, thinking:''' No, he's Left.

--->''There were things about Squall that frightened her, but nothing so much as this. Nothing he'd ever said or done was as terrifying to Morrigan... [[spoiler:as seeing'' him ''so frightened]].''

* SeriousBusiness: The Yule Queen vs. St. Nick battle every Hollowmas. Everyone takes the matter of who they support ''very'' seriously, even though the "battle" is all for show, and ends with a truce every year anyway.

-->''There were things about Squall that frightened her, but nothing so much as this. Nothing he'd ever said or done was as terrifying to Morrigan... [[spoiler:as seeing him so frightened]].''

* PetTheDog: Cadence gets a lot of them towards Morrigan. It's thanks to her interference that Flintlock is unable to deport Morrigan at the end of the first book, and in the third book, she "borrows" a puppy and brings it with her when she visits Morrigan in the hospital, since she thought she would like it.

* PopularityCycle: Ezra Squall tells Morrigan that the Wundrous Society will do this, expecting her to show absolute loyalty to them and be a hero when they need one, but not hesitate to throw her under the bus and treat her like garbage when it suits them. Despite not being overly thrilled with Wunsoc politics by this point, she brushes him off since, well, it's [[ManipulativeBastard Ezra]] [[BigBad Squall]] saying it.