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amylandranch's review against another edition
3.0
This series was recommended for the library by a student so I purchased it and read it. Being the big baby that I am, I was deliciously scared at times and at one point I had to stop reading at night because it was too scary (keep in mind that I am a big wuss). Olive and her family move into a big, creepy house and as she explores, she finds that the paintings move and the cats talk to her. As she continues to explore, she figures out how to enter the paintings and what she finds there is not so great. I liked Olive as the plucky lead who is brave and kind. I also liked the supporting cast, including the cats. It has mystery and action and a dash of suspense. It is for younger readers (grades 4 and up) but I think any fan of mystery and magic will enjoy this book.
middlekmissie's review against another edition
4.0
Very charming; I like that the "good" and "bad" characters are not clear from the beginning. Gives due respect to Narnia, which is nice to see.
middlekmissie's review against another edition
4.0
Very charming; I like that the "good" and "bad" characters are not clear from the beginning. Gives due respect to Narnia, which is nice to see.
emmaleighkr's review against another edition
3.0
This book really bothered me while I was reading it because it is very dark. The story was intriguing and will definitely keep the readers going but this was awfully serious and intense for kids.
enchanten's review against another edition
3.0
Books of Elsewhere Shadows starts out in a compelling way, and Olive makes for a fantastic character. Jacqueline West does well to portray our young protagonist as a strong minded individual and not just an immature naive child.
When Olive is forced to move into a deceased old lady's house that her new neighbours consider weird and whisper about, she doesn't feel she quite fits in anywhere until she discovers a pair of spectacles that allow her to travel into the strange and creepy pictures that seem to be glued to the walls.
What olive doesn't realize is that danger lurks in some of the artworks left by the old lady and soon she ends up struggling to escape.
Shadows is a alright read, I found that after the first few chapters I began to lose interest and eventually put the book down and forgot about it. I didn't find the read to scary and I believe the story itself will appeal to many readers who, unlike me enjoy a good mystery.
I found Jacqueline West's portrayal on Olive's parents quite worrisome as they seem to have little to do with Olive and much more concern with maths, making them very flat and unbelievable.
I did realize the twists to this story early in but as an older reader I find this is to be expected when reading a book aimed towards younger people.
When Olive is forced to move into a deceased old lady's house that her new neighbours consider weird and whisper about, she doesn't feel she quite fits in anywhere until she discovers a pair of spectacles that allow her to travel into the strange and creepy pictures that seem to be glued to the walls.
What olive doesn't realize is that danger lurks in some of the artworks left by the old lady and soon she ends up struggling to escape.
Shadows is a alright read, I found that after the first few chapters I began to lose interest and eventually put the book down and forgot about it. I didn't find the read to scary and I believe the story itself will appeal to many readers who, unlike me enjoy a good mystery.
I found Jacqueline West's portrayal on Olive's parents quite worrisome as they seem to have little to do with Olive and much more concern with maths, making them very flat and unbelievable.
I did realize the twists to this story early in but as an older reader I find this is to be expected when reading a book aimed towards younger people.
pussreboots's review against another edition
5.0
The Shadows by Jacqueline West is the first of the The Books of Elsewhere series. It also won a CYBILS in 2011.
Olive and her math professor parents have moved into a decaying Victorian mansion. It's fully furnished with the furniture and paintings of the late Ms. McMartin. As Olive soon discovers, it's also inhabited by her cats — and they can talk.
As her parents are so focused on their new jobs, and their careers, Olive is left to herself and to the house. She begins to notice things like shadows moving in the paintings. Later, she discovers a way to travel through the paintings. What at first seems like harmless fun, though, quickly becomes something dangerous.
As others have pointed out, there's a similarity to Neil Gaiman's Coraline. But the experience of moving into a house is a pretty standard set up for fiction — especially for horror and fantasy.
As a fan of houses with creepy histories, and with the surrealism of traveling through artwork, I loved this book. Although it's written for readers still new to chapter books and longer works, it held my attention. It also has some wonderful black and white illustrations.
katie_2711's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kendallbridgete's review against another edition
4.0
11-year-old Olive Dunwoody moves into the old McMartin house on Linden Street. There are so many old and mysterious objects around the house, including numerous paintings that cannot be removed from the wall. Olive finds an old pair of glasses and discovers that when she wears them, she can travel into the paintings to a strange world called Elsewhere. Things feel “off” in the Dunwoody house, almost as if the house itself is keeping secrets. Olive meets a young boy named Morton; trapped in a painting of a spooky forest, she helps Morton escape into a painting of his house on his street—Linden Street, where Olive now lives (and Morton’s house is the house of her current next-door neighbor). Olive meets three talking cats, who used to belong to the McMartin family; despite their ability to talk, the cats are very cryptic and clearly keeping many secrets themselves about the house, the paintings, and their former masters. Will Olive be able to uncover the secrets of the paintings? Should she try to help the mysterious people who live in Elsewhere? Can she trust the talking cats? Will Olive be able to overcome the sinister powers in the house that want her and her parents to leave?