Title: The Shadow
Society
Author: Marie
Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: October
18, 2012
Genres: YA,
Sci-fi, Romance
Reviewed by: Ellen
Fritz
Ellen’s rating: 5/5
SUMMARY
Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before
the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never
really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an
alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures
called Shades terrorize the human population.
Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.
When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .
In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won’t soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.
Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.
When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .
In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won’t soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.
REVIEW
As I have always been fascinated by the possible
existence of other dimensions and dimensional splits, The Shadow Society both stimulated and entertained me. When Darcy Jones catches Conn McCrea staring
at her on the first day of school, it gives her an ominous feeling. Little does
she know that Conn's presence will mean adventure, fear, betrayal and even,
love.
Utterly different from anything I've read before, this
paranormal romance completely captivated me. The parallel dimension in which
most of this story is set, is cleverly and creatively designed. Highly advanced
transport systems and futuristic technology combined with old-fashioned
architecture, and no tv service in this alternate Chicago, brings an
imaginative variety of the old and the new to this book.
Darcy is a wonderfully realistic main character. Brave
and loyal, often impulsive and sometimes really distrustful, she is the kind of
character with whom most young girls would be able to identify. When she finds
out that she isn't exactly human, she takes it quite well and focus on
discovering the truth about her past as well as making the best of a tricky
situation.
Conn McCrea, the male protagonist, is in two minds as
to where his loyalty lies until he realizes that not all shades and, hence,
members of The Shadow Society are evil. This, however, creates a wonderfully
realistic misunderstanding between Darcy and Conn, driving the story to a
deeply emotional level.
For once, thank goodness, the foster parent in this
book is a good, level-headed and forgiving person. Although The Shadow Society is filled with
adventure and romance, it is also a tale of friendship, trust and second
chances.
Marie Rutkoski is
the author of the YA novel The Shadow Society and the children's fantasy series The
Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of Wonders, The
Celestial Globe and The
Jewel of the Kalderash. Her next project is a YA trilogy that
begins with The Winner's Curse, which
is scheduled to be published in March 2014.
Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.
Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.
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