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A review by fallingletters
Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly
4.0
Review originally published 7 Oct. 2020 at Falling Letters.
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…
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, 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.
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
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
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. (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. (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