Shadows

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"Magic is illegal in Newworld, so Maggie struggles to explain the strange shadows--that only she can see--that seem to accompany her new stepfather everywhere"-- Provided by publisher.

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Creepy Dystopian Story submitted by sdunav on June 16, 2014, 8:22pm Wonderful story that takes place in an alternate universe that may or may not be a dystopian US. It's hard to describe - basically a 17 y.o. girl gets a new stepfather who is creepy. Not in the way you automatically think, but because he is short and has no fashion sense and is from a strange country and there seem to be wriggly shadows associated with him.

5 Stars For Shadows submitted by Fevvers - STAR473 on July 2, 2014, 7:07pm Magic, technology, grief, family bonds, friendships, dystopian touches, and just a tad of high school drama. I was slow getting through the first 50 pages or so, because I was leery of it turning more angsty and was concerned that what was clear(ish) to the reader were not clear to the narrator. But I ended up really loving and appreciating the book very quickly. McKinley's narrator, Maggie, is 17 years old, having a decidedly mixed high school experience, still dealing with the loss of her father a few years ago, and enormously creeped out by the new man in her mother's life - specifically the writhing, shifting shadows that seem to accompany him. She also enjoys origami and works at an animal shelter and makes great scrambled eggs. But things are getting strange in her life at an exponential rate, and the rules of the world are turning out to be disturbingly porous.

Very refreshingly, the book works as a stand-alone volume, although there is certaintly room for follow-ups in the setting.

Good plot but.... submitted by unknown on July 24, 2015, 4:58pm I liked the book, although I almost put it down, but because I feel the need to give books a second chance in case the plot just starts off slow I finished it to the end. The interesting plot was the only thing that helped me finish the book. The main issue I had that ruined the appeal of the storyline was the way the author would tell the story. It seemed as if she was trying too hard to act towards her "younger" audiences by exaggerating her supposed humour with lots of parenthesis. I'm not sure if you get the picture, but I think the only way to understand is to see her writing in the book for yourself. Other than that I enjoyed the story but I think I just didn't like the authors writing style, which made the book feel choppy since she jumped from one subject to the next without fluid transitions. But I'm not an author so I don't have authority to judge, but coming from a young reader I think her writing style needs to improve.

Confusing, but Good submitted by www.net on July 22, 2018, 10:54pm I've read this book a few times now, and somehow always end up confused. I'm not sure why, though, and I always enjoy the book a lot anyways. I enjoy the writing style, maybe because it reminds me of how I think.