Thursday, May 19, 2016

Review: In the Shadows by Kiersten White & Jim Di Bartolo

In the Shadows 
 In the Shadows 
by Kiersten White & Jim Di Bartolo

Genre(s): Graphic Novel, Paranormal, Historical Fiction
Pages: 384
Published: April 2014
Publisher: Scholastic

Official Synopsis: "From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.

Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t."




Review: This was such a different read. Part novel, part (picture only) graphic novel. It flips periodically, back and forth. It is not a straight forward story. Imagination, the ability to follow multiple times lines and the capability to draw conclusions are all needed to truly appreciate this story.

This book takes place in many different times in the 1900s. From early years to more modern and everything in between. It is dark but wonderfully done. The story is really well written, the art is fantastic. You will meet a vast array of characters, and even the smallest roles have depth.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Very different from my normal reading. An interesting combination is used to tell the story. You do need a bit of patience at first. It can seem a bit confusing, but it all pulls together nicely.





*I was loaned a copy of this book in exchange for a fair, honest review.

2 comments:

  1. Oooh nice! This one's in my TBR mountain! I was intrigued with the novel picture combination as well! I thought I heard the picture part was like the before part or something like that in relation to this story. So hopefully I can remember whatever that tidbit was about once I get around to reading this one! Nice review!

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  2. Now this sounds fascinating. Especially how the authors chose to present their story. Fabulous cover art too!

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