Description from the Publisher (Delacorte Books For Young Readers):
Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.
Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?
Book: Trade Paperback (192 Pages)
Published: Orig. Feb. 2009 / Paperback June 2010
Date Read: June 19 2010
Book Source: Library
My Thoughts:
There was a lot of buzz about this book when the paperback was released back in June. I felt like reading a good ghost story and so I picked up the book at the library. The book cover and description really reminded me of ghost stories I read as a teen, so I was immediately intrigued.
The setting takes place during a hot, slow summer in Louisiana. Iris and Colette are having a typical lazy summer when Iris is pulled into a real ghost story.
The characters are richly drawn and the friendships felt authentic. I was immediately pulled into the mystery of the ghost. The spooky mood is set with the author’s vivid descriptions of the town and the haunting. The descriptive writing made me feel like I was there. The story is suspenseful and creepy and the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat.
Shadowed Summer is a quick read, just under two hundred pages. Recommended for fans of paranormal books or mysteries, or fans of the book Beautiful Creatures, which felt similar in tone. The book did in fact take me back to the ghost stories I read as a teen. And I can’t wait to read Ms. Mitchell’s next book, a historical fiction paranormal novel. The Vespertine is due out in March 2011.
4 Stars
