By Robin McKinley - Shadows (8/27/13)

I pre-ordered and was pleased to receive the book early. I quickly finished my to-do's and sat down to read. Immediately, I was swept into the world of Shadows. As with many of McKinley's worlds, I wish I could visit and explore. I finished reading it far too quickly, so I turned around and read it more slowly the next day.

The characters are interesting and draw you into the story further. By the end, you wish there were more to read and time to know more about the characters. It left me wanting more but in a very positive way, the story had a great conclusion but I wanted more. I felt like I left a visit with a friend several hours too early, but I enjoyed every minute of it!

If you like Robin McKinley's style of writing you're likely to enjoy this book. I couldn't put it down. I did find it a lot simpler than most of her work. It would make a great book for a younger reader.

McKinley has been steadily more tiresome to read, book after book. This one progresses as an endless, histrionic whine. Where Sunshine built complex interiority for its main character, Rae, Shadows repeats a limited set of schticks that depend heavily on Short. Repeated. Phrases! and. *italics*. Italics! to generate any kind of inward energy for the female protagonist; exposition is clumsy. A good editing pass would have made it clear how thin this work is and might have redressed the so-predictable plotting.

I'm done at this point; McKinley seems increasingly self indulgent as a writer. I guess the guaranteed revenue from libraries must be solid enough that her publisher feels it can get away with this kind of mess -- but on the heels of the incomplete Pegasus (re which there seems little progress), the prospects for improvement seem dismal. I'd blame it on blogging about Bell-ringing but there really is no excuse for an experienced writer not to hold herself to a higher standard, given what she has been able to accomplish in the past.

hmmm.... I still hardly know what to think of this book. I just barely understand what happened, and I might care about the characters even less. Yet I keep saying to myself... but, but, but... Robin McKinley wrote it! It can't be that bad, it must just be me! And for some reason, I kind of hope that it is.

The world of shadows takes place in an unnamed future where science and magic are at odds - the newworld tries to block all magic (which is an inherited gene in people, because they are afraid it causes holes in the world- to which they have discovered a scientific way to fix these rips - except it doesn't actually work and magic isn't causing it. hmmm....)

Add to this a teen named Maggie. We meet her, and she loves animals, hates her new stepfather and can ramble like you wouldn't believe. No seriously, ramble, in a false "look at me, I have teenage angst" kind of way. I love middle readers and YA books, so I am prepared for that kind of thing, but Maggie rang false to me. One of her main complaints was a super huge algebra book. No really, it is gigantic and a topic of many conversations. Her rants were hard to relate to, partly because it is in a future where we don't know what many of the words mean and don't know what a "silver bug" or "cobey" is, and partly because she likes to drop in the random word of Japanese to keep us on our toes, but I think mainly because she just isn't all that deep. She is passionate about animals, and their proper training... and I could follow that part.

As for the action- I am still somewhat scratching my head, though I think I have a fairly good picture of what happened. Strangely, every character we know the name of happens to be good and on the same side- and the anonymous science-lovers aren't ever introduced. The book ends as if there will be more books coming out, but I haven't seen anything to suggest this is in the plans.

For children who have lost a parent, watching the surviving parent re-marry can be a new, painful step in the grieving process. After her dad's freak accident, darling Maggie lives with her mom and younger brother. In the USA, the driver who hit the dad would have insurance that pays the family a tidy sum. Not in the U.K., where Maggie's mom works three jobs, eventually advancing to one important job, and leaves Maggie home to cook scrambled eggs for dinner and manage the homefront. Maggie's mom meets a man, Van, and they get married and he moves in. He tutors kids and teenagers, but the income is small. He has few material desires and says Maggie's mom has made his life worth living. Maggie is uncomfortable with the new affection in the house. And the strange shadows Van's body makes at night.
What a terrific book. I loved the teenage slang, the Japanese bons mots, and I really loved all the dog interaction. I wish this author were my friend.

Robin McKinley's new book Shadows is classed as fantasy, yet is a world apart from anything else in the genre.

Fans of McKinley will recognize the key elements of her works in Shadows, a writing quality that immerses readers in the place and thoroughly into the mind of the main character. Another McKinly trait is that faint `fairytale' influence; Both the sense of whimsy in that comes through in so many fairy tales, as well as the oft-grim underpinnings that are so often the dark side of fairytales.

We are at once plunged into the world and life of a teen girl, in a town that is not-quite the norm. It's not a magical world, but only because magic has been banned.

However, Maggie's problems are typical enough: she doesn't care for her step father. She has a strong memory of her love for her own father, so we can understand that she might not take to Val right off. Then there there are the less typical problems, like the fact that his shadow doesn't seem to fit him very well...and in fact, sometimes appears to be doing its own thing entirely. It's creepy, there's no getting around it. And, the primary dangers within the community (cobeys) seem to be occurring closer and closer these days, for no good reason. Although there are official precautions one can take to remain safe, Maggie suspects these are not always effective. She doesn't quite believe in `the authorities."

She's got the typical issue of really being attracted to such a nice looking guy, while wondering what that really means in terms of her long-time best friend, who happens to be male. He is also a bit more than simply human, but she doesn't realize that for ages, and it's hardly his fault, anyway.

Charm always infuses McKinley's works, and Shadows is no slouch in that department. From Maggie's careful training of her dog, to her desire to learn origami, we come to sympathize with this young girl who so strives, in her `just me' kind of way, to make her community - school and family, a better place. She is a kind person, and that will make all the difference.

In Shadows we share Maggie's personal growth and recognition of self - as well as that sense of `right' and `wrong' that we, too, perhaps learned from fairy tales.

As always the writing quality and character development are simply extraordinary. Shadows is a must-read for any McKinley fan...and if you are new to the world of fantasy, only McKinley's own Damar books might be a better place to start.

Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews

Unlike many of the author's previous novels, this isn't set in a fantasy world, but rather an alternate reality which mirrors our own in some ways, while in other ways is quite different. I enjoy alternate world stories, but it took me a while to get into the spirit of this novel.

To begin with, I found the heroine rather whiny and angsty. And the constant use of slang unique to this world may be a good example of world-building, but for some reason it annoyed the heck out of me. However, I kept reading and finally, about one-third of the way through the story, it took hold of my imagination at last and I was drawn into the lives of these characters.

However.... While the book does have a satisfactory conclusion, in the sense that there is no cliffhanger ending, it is also very open-ended and a lot of questions aren't answered. This is a book begging for a sequel, but I have no idea if one is in the cards or not. I do know that her sequels to Pegasus are still far from complete, so if she is going to continue with this tale I can only imagine that such a book is not scheduled for publication in the foreseeable future.

I'm a huge fan of McKinley's early work, but in recent years her novels have been hit-or-miss for me. So, on which end of the spectrum does this fall? I suppose it's more of a "hit" than a "miss"---however, my final opinion really depends on what happens next.

If she intended this to be a stand-alone, then quite frankly I'm left feeling more than a little ticked off. This is a fragment of a larger overall story, and if she didn't plan to revisit this world this book should have been condensed by at least a third of its length, and then a proper conclusion added.

Yep, I know---I have some nerve, telling an author what she should and shouldn't do! Not too demanding or overreaching of me to boss her around and tell her what she should do with her own creation, is it? Heh... But seriously, I would imagine that many editors would have had the same advice.

A lot of readers were irritated by the fact that Pegasus was published without an ending, and while she does intend to revisit that world with (last I heard) two sequels, there's still no telling how long it will be until they are released. If she's going the same route with this one, then I have no objection to waiting a while. But if this is IT, and there's no more story in the pipeline, then I am extremely unsatisfied with the way things were left.

It's quite a nice cover, though...

Maggie lives in an alternate reality version of our Earth where magic works. However, she lives in Newworld, where the use of magic is prohibited and people who possess the genes that allow them to become magicians must have them removed. Instead of using magic, Newworld relies on science to control the cobeys--breaks in reality--that plague the world. Maggie doesn't worry too much about the cobeys, though, because she has a more immediate problem in the form of her stepfather, Val. She can hardly bear to look at him because of the strange shadows that she sees surrounding him all the time. What are the shadows, and what does it mean that she is the only one who can see them? Does it have anything to do with forbidden magic?

In Shadows, McKinley obeys the writer's directive of "show, don't tell." At first, the book is a little disorienting, because the reader has to figure out what McKinley is referring to when Maggie uses terms like "Newworld" and "cobey" and "physwiz." (Not to mention all the slang words that the characters use, like "dreeping" and "dead battery.") Readers who have the patience to stick with it will be rewarded with a story that features a well-thought-out fantasy world and an interesting take on magic. The deeper I got into the novel, the more wrapped up I got in the action, to the point that I found it hard to put down--always the mark of a successful story! I just wish McKinley did sequels, because I really want to know what will happen next to Maggie and her family and friends.

I have a soft spot for stories featuring animals, and this book scores on that front as well. McKinley often includes close relationships between her characters and animals in her novels, and they are certainly central to this one. Maggie volunteers at an animal shelter and spends a lot of time discussing her border collie, Mongo, and her efforts to train him. Animals also play an important role in the magic used in the book--and not just dogs and cats, but creatures of all kinds, including a magical sentient algebra book. (Loved that bit--I want one!)

Shadows is closer to Dragonhaven and Sunshine (though not so dark as that book) in tone and approach than it is to McKinley's fairytale retellings or to the Damar novels. Readers who didn't like those other two books might want to give this one a miss. However, die-hard McKinley fans and lovers of young adult fantasy novels in general should definitely pick this book up and give it a try.

An ARC of Shadows was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoy almost all of her works. If you're a fan of Sunshine, you'll enjoy Shadows, though the new novel feels like a tamer version of the former.

Instead of baker Rae, who's already graduated from high school and moved out on her own (albeit still working at the family shop), we get Maggie, who's in her senior year of high school and still at home. Both have a stepdad (albeit with very different feelings toward them), and both have the whole 'normal girl with love of - animals, baking - who discovers she has a magical legacy and is super special.' Like in Sunshine, the world created in Shadows is one of its most intriguing aspects. I wish McKinley would write a sequel just so we could explore Oldworld and Farworld in addition to Newworld, which is the only place we actually see (and not much of it at that). Like Sunshine, I suspect we'll be waiting on that sequel for a while...or forever.

Minor Spoilers

The characters in Shadows were one of the weak points, especially the love interests and dynamics among the heroine and her two males. First Maggie gets insta lust struck by boy #1 whose the most gorgeous boy she's ever seen (of course), but before literally anything happens, she realizes that she loves boy #2, the friend she's known for years. I'm tired of love triangles, particularly in YA, so I didn't mind that she switched her feelings with minimal (if abrupt) drama. However, I was unsure what the point of boy #1 was since he serves no other significant purpose in the story. We never went to Oldworld, and someone else could have told Maggie she's the mgdaga. I thought he might be tied to the enemy or her stepfather (beyond his mother knowing that Val was famous), but he's just a tag along who doesn't provide emotional conflict or character development for the heroine. If there were a sequel, I would assume he was introduced because he would play a bigger role in the next book; if he had been the one already in her life before the story starts (similar to Mel in Sunshine), I could have accepted his existence more easily. But to introduce him dramatically then do nothing with him? It's almost as if McKinely changed her mind as she was writing, and didn't go back to change what she previously had written. Both guys pale in comparison to the complexities and subtleties of Rae's relationship with Con or even Mel. I liked Maggie's stepfather Val and Jill well enough, though Jill had the standard bff personality.

The prose is smooth and clean, and an easy read. It's first person stream of conciousness, as in Sunshine, so if you don't mind that style, you'll be fine.

The "enemy" such as it was, was even weaker than the villain in Sunshine. Both novels also have the same somewhat open ending that suggests the story is just getting started and there should be a sequel. That said, the book is still an enjoyable ride, though it won't stay with you for a long time after.

Essentially, this is Sunshine lite. If you want to read something that reminds you of the former since you can't have a sequel, this is an acceptable, alternative meal, even if it won't fully satiate your appetite. If you haven't read Sunshine, I'd suggest you read that first. Depending on how much you enjoy that novel, you can come back and decide if you want to read this too.

There have been few constants in reading life. I spent my high school years reading almost exclusively classics, college was a mash-up of fantasy and Spanish literature, and grad school was a haze of academic history. Now I’m in the land of middle grade, young adult, and science fiction and fantasy. One anchor amidst all the change? Robin McKinley. She writes books that speak to the reader, the adventurer, the girl-who-wishes-she-was-brave in me. Her latest release is standalone fantasy Shadows.

Maggie is going through a rough patch. Her senior year is about to begin, and she’s looking forward to the school year (despite the dreaded Algebra class), because it means she won’t have to pretend to like (or attempt to avoid) her new stepfather, Val, for several hours of the day. Val creeps Maggie out. Perhaps because he’s from Oldworld, where they still have magic. Or perhaps it’s the shadows – ones that shouldn’t be there at all. When beautiful new guy Casimir shows up and knows Val by name and as a magician, it seems like the first of many coincidences that are just waiting to turn a flammable situation truly dangerous. Maggie will have to learn her strengths, identify her allies, and brace for chaos, lest it carry her and those she cares about into the void.

When I mentioned Shadows in a Waiting on Wednesday post back at the beginning of the summer, I mistakenly called it urban fantasy. It’s more like suburban fantasy (ha! i crack myself up). What I mean is, yes, it’s contemporary-ish, but no, the story isn’t dependent on the character and characteristics of big city life. This book could be set in any town in America (or Newworld, as McKinley calls it). If I had to label it, I’d call it an alternate world contemporary fantasy.

One of the ‘alternate world’ things about the book is obviously the magic, and in Newworld’s case, the intentional absence of magic. Others are the different history, the that’s-not-a-real-place names, and the vernacular. That last element is really where I felt the writing was weakest. McKinley keeps actual swearing at a minimum, but the euphemisms are at max limits. Even though the pacing is great and the internal dialogue was fine, the invented slang lowered quality of the reading experience. If I’m trying to puzzle out what ‘dreeping’ means in context (i assume bad, but how bad? boring? or majorly terrible? you see how it goes), I’m not paying as much attention to subtle character dynamics and action. And lest anyone think me unfair to the wholly different LANGUAGE usage – I liked the inclusion of Japanese! I really did. It was just the off-ness of the regular, English-language slang that killed my enthusiasm.

My other minor quibble with the story was the wide character focus. For a young adult first-person narrative, there was a lot of focus on the adults of the story and their problems. Which: valid. Adults should be allowed to have real lives and worries too, even in teen books. But perhaps because there were so many adults (as opposed to a primarily teenage cast), it felt like the book could have easily fit in the adult SFF category.

Now that the complaint section is out of the way, I’ll get on with how much I like McKinley and her writing, okay? She does a spectacular job getting inside the heads of unconventional heroines with unusual interests. Maggie has a small, close-knit group of friends, but her main interests are animals (she works at a shelter) and origami. She’s not sure yet what she wants to do with her life. Magical chaos seems to want very hard to break out all around her, and Maggie’s responses are perhaps a little… odd. But you know, she makes sense. McKinley has created a rounded character with all of the little flaws that make us human, and has placed her in a real family, in a real world. It’s the sort of story that feels immediate and possible, despite a fantasy setting.

Beyond characterization, there are the complicated family dynamics, swoony boys (because, well, YES), and an interesting magic and physics system that while not completely spelled-out-with-diagrams, makes an odd and beautiful sort of sense. I think the ease with which a reader can accept the settings and the emotion of a book lies somewhat with the reader, and somewhat with the author. In this case, the author has done her part with skill. In all, it’s a good book – and I can only blame myself for expecting fireworks.

Recommended for: fans of Robin McKinley (especially the ones who like Sunshine best), those who loved Michelle Sagara’s necromancer novel Silence, and anyone interested in rounding out their young adult contemporary fantasy reading.

(review originally posted at: [...]

If you like Robin Mckinley, you will love this book. If you loved Sunshine, you will love this book. Finally, a worthy sucessor (there will never be a sequel, sadly, but at least now with Shadows, you get a similar enough book to fulfill that gaping hunger for feisty, slightly spacey heroines with older, strong-but-gentle mentors who are involved in some kind of homey, comforting passtime (in Sunshine it was baking, in Shadows its animal shelter care).

So yeah. Maggie often comes off as a slightly rambly and crotchety old lady, and McKinley's sentence structure drives me crazy as she goes off in the middle of one thought to a convoluted second thought and then loops back again and you've already forgotten the first part of the sentence, and the combination of BOTH made up swear words and the Japanese lingo was annoying....and I don't care. I like it.

Why? Because what made Sunshine so great wasn't the world-building or the plot (basically not much happens except at the end) it was the homey, comforting feeling of a girl making giant cinnabon buns and figuring out family issues.

And in Shadows, the world-which-is-not-quite our world is slightly confusing to navigate, but Maggie spends lots of time with dogs at the shelter, and lots of time getting licked on the hand or face by critters and figuring out how to get critters not to chew on things. And her friends are awesome, and despite the small swerve into love-triangle-hood which was completely unnecessary, the main romance between Maggie and her long-time friend Takahiro was so sweet and not at all uncomfortable.

There's just enough excitement in the daring rescue at the end when everyone comes together in a great big gang to save the day that it saves the novel from being TOO slow paced.

If you like McKinley, or don't mind a bit of rambley spaciness and ambiguous world-building so you can load up on the yummy yummy carbs of good-feeling friendship, family interactions, and heroine learning she can do more than she thought she could with a side of strange idioms and origami-folding as magic, than this is the book for you.

As a McKinley fan, I chowed down on this book, enjoying every last scrap (except for the too-liberal use of Japanese slang, but that's forgiven because of the beautiful way Maggie and Takahiro became friends over a perfectly folded paper crane)

When Maggie’s new stepfather Val moves in, he brings with him dozens of dark shadows that no one except Maggie can see. Val is from Old World, where dangerous magic is rampant, but this is New World, and magic is illegal and has been eradicated—or so Maggie thought. Val’s shadows spell trouble for not only Maggie’s family, but for her entire way of life.

In classic McKinley style, Shadows is a mysterious, absorbing book with multiple plot layers and an inviting world much like our own, but with fascinating differences. Maggie tells her story in a very personable, conspiratorial tone, not holding back on her sarcasm, vulnerabilities, and fears as she recounts how she first met Val and as she deals with the shadows that drape her once-mundane life. McKinley’s world-building is slow and steady, punctuated by humorous accounts of Maggie’s friends and her beloved dog Mongo’s antics. Shadows is the sort of book that readers will want to take their time with, wading through Maggie’s richly-drawn world, getting to know her family, friends, and community, and following along on her high-stakes journey to uncover the truth about her world and her own capabilities.

Cover Comments: I really like this cover. I love the use of color and the way the title fades into the water. The outdoor image is really great, and I think it;s a unique look that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

In "Shadows" Robin McKinley crafts a quantum world in which magic is feared and banned, and rifts in reality are a constant danger. What I think is fantastic is how the book gets this across without ever getting science-y. Instead, we learn about Maggie Alastrina's reality through her experiences: This makes the world building an interesting challenge for the reader as Maggie speaks in an odd vernacular that is suggestive of a different time and world. Takahiro's relationship to the word "the" is hilarious. And relationships is what this book is all about...learning to look at the unfamiliar as relationships instead of as things. As for the flow, there is some guesswork as you are introduced to things before they are explained. There were times when I was fooled into thinking that I was missing a real world something, when it was just a Maggie-world happening. This will probably annoy some readers, but peak other readers' curiosity. The large role played by symbiotic parasites and other world creatures made Shadows a unique read for me. Add the supernatural and an animal theme and I was completely won over. It was interesting how McKinley builds on the idea that some animals have one foot in and one foot out of reality, and then wove it into the storyline. Overall, an engaging and unique supernatural book.

Whatever their fantasy or urban fantasy setting, McKinley's novels tend to revolve around a protagonist (often, as here, YA) gradually discovering that s/he has more power, and a more important and perilous role to play, than s/he had ever imagined. Done well, this is an appealing and engrossing story line -- and McKinley does it well.

One particularly delightful angle here: Maggie loves and trains dogs, and her interactions with various canine characters have humor and authenticity -- even before they turn out to echo her relationships with more exotic creatures.

The end of Shadows points toward a sequel -- but so, I thought, did the ending of McKinley's incomparable Sunshine, and that book stands alone all these years later. Still, the world of Shadows has much in common with that of Sunshine. Dare I hope that McKinley is moving back into the territory of the latter?

Robin McKinley got a Newberry honor almost twenty years ago and, not being a prolific writer, it is amazing to stumble across a new tale, that takes place in a world where dimension shattering Cobeys arise occasionally. Most of the world uses magic to contain them, but New World has abjured magic to the point of genetic modification of those with the magic gene. Maggie, a highschool senior knows nothing of magic until her mother remarries a man from Oldworld and Maggie can see the Shadows (hard from Nancy Paulson Books which I bought at Philcon) moving behind him. One friend, Takahiro, taught Maggie how to fold origami paper and has a secret he has hidden in the eight years he’s been in New World since his mother died. This is one of those magical tales that telling too much of the plot destroys the wonder. My only complaint about the tale is that Robin McKinley rarely does sequels and I really want to know what happens next. Review Printed in Philadelphia Weekly Press

I was surprised how much I liked this book, given that I'm not a teenager but the lead was endearing (as were the other characters). There were parts where I laughed out loud (particularly the description of her step father's clothes). It was a lovely story, simple but charming. I was slightly disappointed at the ending as it didn't feel finished (which is fine if this was the first in a series but I'm not sure if this it the case). I wish this book and Sunshine were continued as a short series as they are my favourite books from this author.

McKinley's *Shadows* is a fun read. The main character, Maggie, is a high school senior whose mother has just remarried a strange foreigner who comes with an assortment of creepy shadows. And in her country, where magic is supposed to have been eliminated through genetic pruning and science controls the eruptions of cobeys (which seem a lot like micro magical black holes), using magic may come at a very high cost indeed. Maggie has to come to terms with her new stepfather, her own heritage, and high school algebra while dealing with cobeys, the army, not one but TWO cute boys, and her insanely active border collie. Not too bad for the start of senior year of high school...

While there is a fair amount of description and the inner narration by Maggie occasionally slows down the pace (sometimes at annoying times), overall it's pretty balanced. Unlike some of her other fantasy novels, this one is in an alternate modern universe complete with cars and coffee makers, and the collisions between science and magic are fun diversions. Maggie's relationship with her friends, her family, and her love of animals (and animal-like things) really ground this novel well, even though events sometimes come quickly and there is a whole new world (complete with loads of inventive slang). And if Maggie doesn't question things quite as quickly as, well, this reader would like, and the "love triangle" is over so quickly you'd be forgiven for missing it entirely, that's not an entirely bad thing. Overall a really enjoyable read.

This is an excellent story. It is imaginative, convincing, rich, and enjoyable. But in this novel, McKinley once again - as in Sunshine and, worse, in Dragonhaven - tries to adopt the voice of a not-too-bright teenager. I found this to really detract from my enjoyment of otherwise excellent tales. I had to still award it four stars, but without that flaw, it would have earned full points.

Robin McKinley dedicates Shadows to the late Diana Wynne Jones, and it is an apt tribute. Like so many of Jones' books, Shadows deals with magic in a world it would be easy to mistake for our own. Maggie is a high school senior with typical problems--she's struggling with algebra, and her mom has recently married a man Maggie has an aversion to. Both the algebra and the man turn out to be crucial in shaping Maggie's journey to discover her place in Newworld, a place so adverse to magic that the magic gene was surgically removed from carriers in past generations. But it's clear from the start that not all the magic is missing, and Maggie turns out to have gifts far beyond her talent for dog training. Maggie's dog Mongo, her lifelong friends Jill and Takahiro, her new friend Casimir, and her algebra book all have important roles to play when the world is threatened both with outside magic and the government's response to it. With her trademark sarcastic humor, vividly drawn characters, and utterly original turns of phrase, McKinley spins a satisfying tale for lovers of animals, magic, and brave heroines.

I love Robin McKinley, but this book was an overwritten, yet somehow shallow disappointment. Was it written by a ghostwriter? The excess amount of words/time spent on the dog smack of the author herself. I commend the attempt at alternate world-building, but the slang was impenetrable; the main character, annoying; the conflict, obscure. It could have used a good editor.

Very good in young adult way, but I really wanted sequel set in the world with nasty vampires and Charlie's bakery. I read that one (Sunshine) 4 times in first month, ok I am a speed reader, but only book I ever read and reread more quickly was Covenant (8) by Lorna Freeman. I really have read several thousand fiction books by present age of 63. How come Sunshine isn't on kindle puzzles
me. Helen

I almost gave up on this book. Literally, it wasn't until page 120 or so that it sucked me in. It took awhile for Robin McKinley to develop this world but once in, it's fantastic. Sadly, like Sunshine (which I absolutely love) I don't think we'll get another chance to explore it. The ending is somewhat open where you could see sequels, but I don't think that will happen.

I've always loved Robin McKinley, ever since I read The Blue Sword. She has very strong female characters, and she did not fail in that here. I really liked the book. I liked the concept. I loved the animals. I wish the ending was more solid. I mean the ending was great. All immediate problems solved, but you can tell the story will go on without you. Maybe there will be a sequel?

Sadly, a mediocre book, perhaps given away by the dedication to Connie Willis. In her later books Willis is also mediocre in the same way McKinley is here. Willis' _To Say Nothing Of The Dog_ is one of my favorite books, but _Blackout_ & _All Clear_ are simply embarrassments.

My primary objection is the literary device that the character be diverted at every opportunity, thus increasing the tension. In reading this book, I imagined writing a book where the protagonist attempts to change the thermostat (a la Nicholson Baker's _Room Temperature_) where the heroine is distracted by her dog, algebra textbook, desire for hot chocolate, two potential boyfriends, miscellaneous dogs, and five other distractions, yet in the end ultimately nothing actually happens.

By the end of the book we have no explanation for the resolution, instead perhaps a setup for a trilogy. More competent authors would have included the entirety of McKinley's story as the first third of their book. I'm deliberately vague to avoid spoilers, but again, there's not really a resolution in this book.

I write this review while watching Peter Brook's film version of Mahabharata, and understandably most books would suffer in comparison. But I still think this is a mediocre book. McKinley has definitely written better...

This is an interesting story, and clearly a set-up for a not-yet published sequel or even series. It is creative and strong. Best for teens, however. I loved Chalice and some of her other works as an adult, but this was for a younger set. It would make a great movie....

Robin McKinley is my favorite living author; this was not her best, by far. The story has a good foundation, but it was seriously in need of an editor. The characters and plot needed developing, the pacing was off. I felt like it was the sketch of a novel, not the finished product.

Robin McKinley is a woman of many different voices, so I feel that it is unfair to compare her books in order to rank them. Shadows is a very good and interesting read, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the world she creates. The author knows how to write a great story with fantasy and sci-fi elements without falling into any of the traps that make those genres dull. There is a lot going on at once in this novel, so it will only improve on a re-read. If you enjoy character driven stories with fantasy and sci-fi elements, you will enjoy this book.

Absolutely love Robin McKinley's style of writing. Shadows starts a little slow but quickly draws you in. I do want to see more of the characters and hope that Ms McKinley is compelled by her muse to write more about them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Robin's lack of seemingly endless pages of back story is one of the things I love about her books. She gets right to the story and its fun puzzling out what this or that means. She's incredibly creative and always delivers. Another great book by Robin McKinley!

I love the way Robin Mckinley mixes the magical world with the practical world, how they overlap and mingle freely, all the while respecting the natural boundaries that only Robin seems to understand and do well. Thanks for another one that I'll read over and over.