A review by maximus_midnight
Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly

2.0

This book was kind of just... a book. There were parts I liked but a lot of it just felt kind of eh. I've read other middle-grade books and found them great, but I think this book is lower than others I've read. The character development fell flat. The characters felt like beings to act out the story, not their own creatures.

Spoiler

Lucas felt like a one-sided character, like he existed only to be a companion to the main character. In the end, Emmeline blames basically all of her past bad behavior and mistakes on Dar's influence. Although the characters are young and personality development doesn't happen the same way it does with teens and adults, I still feel Emmeline should've been able to recognize something inside herself that was also a factor in her behavior with Dar.

I really enjoyed the worldbuliding of this book, but the characterization was kind of nonexistent. I could tell this was not just readable for middle grades but very much aimed at them.