Can You Trust Your Shadow? [MG Review]

Emmeline’s gift of controlling shadows has isolated her from the rest of the world, but she’s grown to be content, hidden away in her mansion with Dar, her own shadow, as her only company. Disaster strikes when a noble family visits their home and offers to take Emmeline away and cure her of magic. Desperate not to lose her shadows, she turns to Dar who proposes a deal: Dar will change the noble’s mind, if Emmeline will help her become flesh as she once was.

Emmeline agrees but the next morning the man in charge is in a coma and all that the witness saw was a long shadow with no one nearby to cast it. Scared to face punishment, Emmeline and Dar run away. With the noble’s guards on her trail, Emmeline’s only hope of clearing her name is to escape capture and perform the ritual that will set Dar free. But Emmeline’s not sure she can trust Dar anymore, and it’s hard to keep secrets from someone who can never leave your side.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

This is one of those books that I should have reviewed shortly after I read it but I didn’t and now I can barely remember anything except I maybe liked the book more as it went on, so now I will attempt to cobble together a coherent if fragmented review from my notes…

The first my shadow spoke to me, I was a mere infant in the cradle. They say that on the night I was born, even the stars fled the sky and the moon hid under a dark cloak. That I was a quiet thing, with a shock of black hair and eyes like glittering onyx. I did not scream like other newborn children. And I did not reach for my mother like instinct should have instructed me.

Instead, I held out my tiny arms and smiled at the shadow in the corner of the room.

And it smiled back

Shadow Weaver, pg. 1

What an opening! Absolute killer. While the book doesn’t sustain that style for the whole thing (I think that would get tedious quickly), I did find the narration style relatively unique for a MG novel. For example, another early passage sounds innocent enough but actually suggests something a little darker…

Dar buzzes with excitement as we wait around the corner of the back stairwell the servants always sue. It is darker and dustier than the stairs in the main part of the mansion, which is why my shadow suggested it. We are always on the hunt for new games to amuse us. Today is no exception.

Shadow Weaver, 6%

Dar, Emmeline’s shadow, delights in sinister deeds and manipulation. It’s a bit heartbreaking watching Emmeline come to realize that. Emmeline makes for a unique protagonist among middle grade heroines because she spends much of the story trailing behind Dar, fretting about her (Emmeline’s) actions yet not taking ownership. Because of their relationship, I would argue that, at its core, Shadow Weaver is a story about learning to think for and stand up for yourself.

I may live in shadows, but I fear I am more in the dark about Dar than I ever suspected.

Shadow Weaver, 68%

Shadow Weaver takes place in a secondary world. I found this book, the first in a duology, hits the sweet spot between 1) providing enough information about the world to hook the reader, 2) resolving enough questions by the end to make a satisfying conclusion, and 3) keeping enough open to make the reader reach for the second book.

The Bottom Line 💭

Recommended for readers who like their fantasy character-driven with a dose of darkness (in Shadow Weaver’s case, a literal dose!).

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ Jean Book Nerd
🍂 Reviews: Christina @ Chrikaru Reads
🍂 Related: I have heard this compares to The Night Gardener and Serafina and the Black Cloak, both of which I reviewed way back in 2015 (you can see how my attitude towards reviewing middle grade has changed/stayed the same since then :P).