Scan barcode
bookbitereviews's review
3.0
This novel just was not for me. It was too dry for my taste. I like the overall story, but I wish it would of had a nice innocent romance to it or even just being scarier. I had pretty high hopes for this novel, because it sounds like its right up my ally and I like the cover, but it just wasn't for me. I am used to the gritty, sexy, almost crossing the line YA and this novel is definitely not one of those. It is more innocent with touches of gothic. I couldn't really bond with the character that well so I really had to depend on the story. Overall it was an ok story, but it definitely wasn't a favorite. I recommend this to those who like southern gothics or those who are already fans of Saundra's.
yatllive's review
4.0
The Debut novel, “Shadowed Summer,” of author Saundra Mitchell is a work that is short and brief. The story is about a young girl, Iris, and her friend Collette who spend their summer days messing around with magic and spells in the nearby graveyard. The story takes place in the hot humid days of the country side town of Ondine, Louisiana, a small hobonk town where the most excitement anyone sees is the kids blowing up river bend. The characters are filled with boredom of small town life and that is translated well onto the pages of Mitchell’s book. The heat and the humidity of Iris’ summer adventure sizzles out of the pages into a story set in the deep hot summer south.
Mitchell delivers a novel of a girl who is haunted by a ghost name Elijah. Elijah is frustrated since no one has been able to find his body after he went missing that one fateful day. Through much speculation, interrogation and clue seeking Iris and Collette, with the help of Collette’s boyfriend Ben, are able to solve the mystery step by step. The emotional frustration is apparent in Elijah’s haunting episodes.Though at times slow or winding the story still seemed to progress nicely. Between Elijah and his appearances the story took on a life of its own.
I found the characters to be lacking depth and at times a little bored(boring?). Well, I suppose in the small town they lived in they would be. The most fascinating character was Elijah, who was creepy and mysterious giving the story some oomph. Elijah’s creepiness oozed out of the pages and his haunting occurrences were the most successful aspect of the novel. Although the story was not boring, it kept me going, I was still wanting more and felt a few extra pages and character building might have done the book good. Overall the book was an OK debut novel with spurts of excellent.
I give this book a 73/100 C-
Characters- 14
Plot- 15
Writing- 16
Originality- 16
Re-Readability- 12
Mitchell delivers a novel of a girl who is haunted by a ghost name Elijah. Elijah is frustrated since no one has been able to find his body after he went missing that one fateful day. Through much speculation, interrogation and clue seeking Iris and Collette, with the help of Collette’s boyfriend Ben, are able to solve the mystery step by step. The emotional frustration is apparent in Elijah’s haunting episodes.Though at times slow or winding the story still seemed to progress nicely. Between Elijah and his appearances the story took on a life of its own.
I found the characters to be lacking depth and at times a little bored(boring?). Well, I suppose in the small town they lived in they would be. The most fascinating character was Elijah, who was creepy and mysterious giving the story some oomph. Elijah’s creepiness oozed out of the pages and his haunting occurrences were the most successful aspect of the novel. Although the story was not boring, it kept me going, I was still wanting more and felt a few extra pages and character building might have done the book good. Overall the book was an OK debut novel with spurts of excellent.
I give this book a 73/100 C-
Characters- 14
Plot- 15
Writing- 16
Originality- 16
Re-Readability- 12
laurabenson's review
2.0
I received a nice, shiny copy from Ms. Mitchell herself! I'm thrilled and can't wait to dive in! A GHOST story! :)
labraden's review
3.0
Shadowed Summer started very slowly, setting the mood of a hot summer in the deep south where strange things can happen especially in a cemetery late at night. Iris and her best friend Collette have spent many summers making up stories about all things paranormal, but at fourteen years old, things are starting to change. Collette has a boyfriend named Ben, and strange things are happening to Iris making her believe that she is being haunted by the ghost of Elijah, a boy who went missing in her hometown years ago. Collette and Ben want to help Iris, but as they investigate Elijah's disappearance, clues start leading Iris way to close to home.
Even though the book didn't really get moving until almost half way through, the last half was filled with event after event making the rest of the book a quick read. Overall a pretty good story with a few really terrifying scares.
Even though the book didn't really get moving until almost half way through, the last half was filled with event after event making the rest of the book a quick read. Overall a pretty good story with a few really terrifying scares.
trupti's review
3.0
The thing is I am a little disappointed with this book. It has a fantastic premise and since it’s a ghost story I was eager to get freaked out. But this book turned out to be more of a thriller than a ghost story. Of course there is a ghost, but the book does not revolve around the creepy things the ghost does. It’s more about finding out why this person still is in the in-between world and what is his unfinished business on Earth? There were a couple of scenes that were a little scary but then the spooky feeling went away as soon as the scene was over.
14 year old Iris and Colette are 2 girls from Ondine, Louisiana. As their town has literally no entertainment to boast of, the girls try to entertain themselves with make belief spells and mysteries. As Ondine is a small town where nothing much happens, the thing that is remotely interesting and mysterious is a boy named Elijah. A few years back Elijah had disappeared from the town. As the number of youths running from Ondine to bigger towns was high, the police suspected that he had run away.
One day when Iris and Colette are in a graveyard chanting their make-belief spells, Iris suddenly hears a voice that addresses her. Because of certain circumstances, Iris concludes that it is Elijah’s ghost. She, Colette and a guy called Ben try to unearth the mystery behind Elijah and his disappearance.
The best part about the book was the relationships between Iris and Colette. The author totally nailed the dynamics between 2 teenage best friends. The atmosphere in the small town also seemed so real that at times I could feel the heat on my back and the frustration and boredom of living in a town as small as Ondine.
Again, I am not saying I didn’t like the book. I am just saying I expected more. Shadowed Summer could be a good for people who want to read a ghost story but are easily scared. Or it could also be a good introduction of horror stories for teenagers.
14 year old Iris and Colette are 2 girls from Ondine, Louisiana. As their town has literally no entertainment to boast of, the girls try to entertain themselves with make belief spells and mysteries. As Ondine is a small town where nothing much happens, the thing that is remotely interesting and mysterious is a boy named Elijah. A few years back Elijah had disappeared from the town. As the number of youths running from Ondine to bigger towns was high, the police suspected that he had run away.
One day when Iris and Colette are in a graveyard chanting their make-belief spells, Iris suddenly hears a voice that addresses her. Because of certain circumstances, Iris concludes that it is Elijah’s ghost. She, Colette and a guy called Ben try to unearth the mystery behind Elijah and his disappearance.
The best part about the book was the relationships between Iris and Colette. The author totally nailed the dynamics between 2 teenage best friends. The atmosphere in the small town also seemed so real that at times I could feel the heat on my back and the frustration and boredom of living in a town as small as Ondine.
Again, I am not saying I didn’t like the book. I am just saying I expected more. Shadowed Summer could be a good for people who want to read a ghost story but are easily scared. Or it could also be a good introduction of horror stories for teenagers.
e_knight's review
3.0
Not bad, but way too was to predict. I had a feeling that what happened would happen...
mephistia's review
4.0
I quite liked it. It was an interesting, quick read. The characters were easy to relate to, the plot was tight and clean and it was just fun. In the way of many YA books, it focused more on plot and character interaction than on romance and passion, but I was interested in how the subplot managed to bring elements of the effects that more peripheral adult world can have on youth.
evewithanapple's review
2.0
This was an awfully unscary book for a southern gothic ghost story.
Also: ugh more tragic dead gays. Can we have something else now, please?
Also: ugh more tragic dead gays. Can we have something else now, please?
cornucopiaofbooks's review
3.0
Shadowed Summer, Mitchell's debut, was a book that kept me in suspense from start to finish. While there were a few things that I think could have improved, I really enjoyed the story.
One of the things that I most enjoyed about the book was the setting. Mitchell described summer in Louisiana in a way that made me feel as though I was there (that was pretty impressive, considering it was only 30 degrees the night I finished the book). Mitchell's description of life in a small town was excellent as well. I grew up in a small town, and I've experienced the extreme boredom that comes along with it. At least in Ondine, Iris had a few places she could spend time.
I think that some of the characters could have been developed a bit more. Particularly Collette, who I thought was a bit predictable. She became jealous of Iris, and I thought it was easy to predict the conflict that would arise because of that. This book was also a fairly short read. While some people may really enjoy this aspect, I thought that more length could have allowed Mitchell to offer a bit more insight into her characters.
Overall, I thought that the paranormal aspect of the book was handled extremely well. I wasn't able to figure out what had happened to Elijah, and parts of the story gave me the creeps. The plot was unique, and I appreciated Mitchell's ability to describe life in a small southern town. There were a couple issues that I had, particularly with Colette, but I thought it was a strong debut.
One of the things that I most enjoyed about the book was the setting. Mitchell described summer in Louisiana in a way that made me feel as though I was there (that was pretty impressive, considering it was only 30 degrees the night I finished the book). Mitchell's description of life in a small town was excellent as well. I grew up in a small town, and I've experienced the extreme boredom that comes along with it. At least in Ondine, Iris had a few places she could spend time.
I think that some of the characters could have been developed a bit more. Particularly Collette, who I thought was a bit predictable. She became jealous of Iris, and I thought it was easy to predict the conflict that would arise because of that. This book was also a fairly short read. While some people may really enjoy this aspect, I thought that more length could have allowed Mitchell to offer a bit more insight into her characters.
Overall, I thought that the paranormal aspect of the book was handled extremely well. I wasn't able to figure out what had happened to Elijah, and parts of the story gave me the creeps. The plot was unique, and I appreciated Mitchell's ability to describe life in a small southern town. There were a couple issues that I had, particularly with Colette, but I thought it was a strong debut.
rjandersonwriter's review
4.0
If I had seen this book in the bookstore I would probably never have picked it up. A ghost story? A graveyard on the cover? Looks like horror/occult -- so very not my thing.
And then I would have missed out on a beautifully written, fantastically characterized, gripping, suspenseful, and touching book.
Saundra Mitchell's writing is rich and sensuously evocative, yet so easy and natural to read -- a rare combination. Her dialogue sparkles, and the heroine Iris and her friends are absolutely believable young teens. Mitchell creates an amazing sense of atmosphere in this book that will make you feel as though you are right in the heart of a steamy Louisiana summer while reading it. Rather than being a morbid and horrific tale of a vengeful ghost, this story is about the secrets that haunt people and drive them apart, about Iris's relationship with her father and the people she loves, and her growing realization of what it means to leave childhood behind and begin to become an adult. So much more than I would ever have guessed just by looking at the (beautiful, but spooky-looking) cover.
And then I would have missed out on a beautifully written, fantastically characterized, gripping, suspenseful, and touching book.
Saundra Mitchell's writing is rich and sensuously evocative, yet so easy and natural to read -- a rare combination. Her dialogue sparkles, and the heroine Iris and her friends are absolutely believable young teens. Mitchell creates an amazing sense of atmosphere in this book that will make you feel as though you are right in the heart of a steamy Louisiana summer while reading it. Rather than being a morbid and horrific tale of a vengeful ghost, this story is about the secrets that haunt people and drive them apart, about Iris's relationship with her father and the people she loves, and her growing realization of what it means to leave childhood behind and begin to become an adult. So much more than I would ever have guessed just by looking at the (beautiful, but spooky-looking) cover.