What would you do if you were told that the shadows needed to be fed and it was up to you to do so? What would you do if you were told you had to choose someone to disappear forever or lose someone close to you? Could you do it? That is what happens to four classmates in the small town of Shadow Pines. This book chronicles the first 9 months of their possession of the shadow boxes.
An interesting and unique tale, the story line is quite unlike any that I've ever read before. Yes, we've all read stories that dealt with consequences of our behavior, but this is truly out of their hands and the story reaches into each characters life and they are bared to you in ways that strips their armor away and lets you see the real them, with their strengths and weaknesses. Four people, who before it all would have barely acknowledged each others existence, now relying on one another for guidance.
The author really took her time to craft each one of the characters persona's. As I read and got to know each one, I could feel the characters coming to life. I could see them, feel them, understand them and it soon started to feel like it wasn't a group of four, but of five, adding the reader to the mix. I didn't feel like a fly on the wall, seeing and hearing everything, but I felt like I was standing right there with them. Having said that, I do feel that the author slacked off on a few people in the book that needed a bit more polishing, ie Gianna and Ava-Kaya.
The book seemed a bit rough in the last few pages. Not just questions left unanswered, which is going to happen since this is designated as not a standalone, but the first with more to come, but it seemed that the author was trying to feed a bit more info that just didn't feel right at the time. I'm sure it was meant to gear the reader up for the next book, but it wasn't really needed and didn't need to be added and instead took away from the satisfied and curious feelings that I was having.
Any reader who is interested in mystery and the paranormal will find themselves enjoying this book. Age wise, it's good for teens and adults alike. There are some shady characters in it, but nothing the parent of a teen would find inappropriate. The mystery really grabs at the reader throughout the book. There's so many layers of cover ups and lies going on that I can't wait to read the next book in the series and see what comes to light and see exactly what's going on with certain characters and what is driving them to do what they are doing.
Can this curse be broken? Will people come back? If they come back, will they know what happened to them? Will they be normal? Is it all a lie? Are they trapped in this town? What do the towns adults know? So many questions!