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A review by tcbueti
The Shadows: The Books of Elsewhere: Volume 1 by Jacqueline West
4.0
This one grabbed me pretty much right away, with the description of Olive's mathematically loopy and smitten parents, and the character of a lonely girl who has moved too many times and never really fit in.The growing sense of lurking danger in their big old (new-to-them) house got me next. I found this really creative, with the magic glasses enabling Olive to enter the paintings, and the talking, snarky cats--are they good, or evil? What starts off sort of charming--lonely girl, mysterious house, intriguing cats --becomes truly creepy, with a powerful, truly ruthless and murderous creature and his equally literally cold-hearted granddaughter's spirit.
This reminded me initially of some of my favorite books, Jane Langton's Diamond in the Window and Swing in the Summerhouse, because of the in and out, there and back, episodic nature of her adventures. [b:The Diamond in the Window|144258|The Diamond in the Window|Jane Langton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172162697s/144258.jpg|139180][b:The Swing in the Summerhouse|671039|The Swing in the Summerhouse (Hall Family Chronicles # 2)|Jane Langton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298616198s/671039.jpg|1772315]
But I have to say that the spirit of Old Man McMartin was really frightening, and the description of that last night, when Olive's parent were out, was unrelenting, putting this ultimately more on a parr with Gaiman's The Graveyard Book or Coraline, or parts of A Tale Dark and Grimm.[b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1303859949s/2213661.jpg|2219449][b:Coraline|17061|Coraline|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255716870s/17061.jpg|2834844][b:A Tale Dark and Grimm|7825557|A Tale Dark and Grimm|Adam Gidwitz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280470893s/7825557.jpg|10874302]
I really like Olive's plucky spirit, sense of humor, and especially her refusal to abandon little Morton. Curious to see what the next book holds.[b:Spellbound|9261978|Spellbound (The Books of Elsewhere, #2)|Jacqueline West|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VDCrJk9DL._SL75_.jpg|14142719]Due out on Monday 7/11.[b:Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians|623976|Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1283439193s/623976.jpg|2591148]
This reminded me initially of some of my favorite books, Jane Langton's Diamond in the Window and Swing in the Summerhouse, because of the in and out, there and back, episodic nature of her adventures. [b:The Diamond in the Window|144258|The Diamond in the Window|Jane Langton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172162697s/144258.jpg|139180][b:The Swing in the Summerhouse|671039|The Swing in the Summerhouse (Hall Family Chronicles # 2)|Jane Langton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298616198s/671039.jpg|1772315]
But I have to say that the spirit of Old Man McMartin was really frightening, and the description of that last night, when Olive's parent were out, was unrelenting, putting this ultimately more on a parr with Gaiman's The Graveyard Book or Coraline, or parts of A Tale Dark and Grimm.[b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1303859949s/2213661.jpg|2219449][b:Coraline|17061|Coraline|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255716870s/17061.jpg|2834844][b:A Tale Dark and Grimm|7825557|A Tale Dark and Grimm|Adam Gidwitz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280470893s/7825557.jpg|10874302]
I really like Olive's plucky spirit, sense of humor, and especially her refusal to abandon little Morton. Curious to see what the next book holds.[b:Spellbound|9261978|Spellbound (The Books of Elsewhere, #2)|Jacqueline West|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VDCrJk9DL._SL75_.jpg|14142719]Due out on Monday 7/11.[b:Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians|623976|Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1283439193s/623976.jpg|2591148]