The Shadows
The Books of Elsewhere series, Volume 1
Jacqueline West
Puffin
Fiction, MG Fantasy/Horror
Themes: Creative Power, Cross-Genre, Felines, Girl Power, Witches
****
Description
When Olive's parents moved into the old stone house on Linden Street, she hoped she'd finally found a home after spending years bouncing from one interchangeable apartment (and school) to another, even if it was a strange and spooky place. It was full of what a real estate agent would call "character": mismatched windows, long halls that ended in shadows, strange low ceilings that bumped you on the head, and a collection of old paintings that seemed glued to the walls by age... or by something else. Olive discovers that, by wearing a pair of spectacles she found in an empty room, that the paintings come to life - and that she can pass through the frame and into the painted world. But she learns that it's not a simple game when she finds a boy who has been trapped in the paintings for years. Dark magic went into their creation, permeating the entire property... a dark magic that wants to take its home back, and isn't about to let one little girl stop it.
Review
Just as the cover and blurb promise, The Shadows delivers a spooky adventure with a somewhat brave (but not infallible) girl squaring off against centuries-old magic. She's used to being the invisible kid who never makes a mark, the one teachers have to make the other kids play with; the fact that her parents are mathematical geniuses and she can't count to one hundred without forgetting the eighties doesn't help her feel like she belongs, even at home. By discovering the paintings and the house's other secrets, such as the talking cats who skulk about the property, she finally has something of her own and a way to stand out, even if her parents and peers never know about it - but, of course, it's no easy thing to face down magic. She makes a few mistakes, and now and again the story pushes her one way or the other for plot reasons, but it still makes for an exciting (and somewhat scary) tale. I enjoyed it.