In the Shadows

by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo

[lizarodz]

think the way to best describe In the Shadows is creepy-stastic. This book is very different, both because of the combination of narrative and illustration, and for the way it was put together with a big span of years.

The text story component by author Kiersten White is perfection. I found the story riveting, interesting, mysterious, but easy to understand. There is an underlying feeling of confusion, but it’s the same feeling that the characters in the book experience.

The main characters are similar in the future they share and the circumstances that brought them together. Cora and Minnie are sisters, very close in age and they live with their mother in boarding house in Maine. It is here where they meet first Arthur, and later Charles and Thom. The latter two are also siblings, send from New York by their father supposedly to help improve Charles health. This group becomes very close and unite against a common enemy and in the search for answers.

The “bad guys” are a group of people that grant favors to others in exchange for certain sacrifices. I really can’t say too much without giving the story away, let me just say that they are awful, persistent, scary, and evil.

Jim Di Bartolo is the artist, illustrator and author of a “parallel” story that doesn’t make a lot of sense until almost the ending. When it did, I went back to look at them and to say “Oh, that’s what this is”. It is brilliantly done and executed. The illustrations (and accompanying story) are dark, moody, broody, and sometimes creepy and even a bit scar; as I said, brilliant. (**Check out some of the illustrations in the trailer below**)

The plot is outstanding. The ending is surprising and I’m glad that it was a happy one. After everything that happened and everything that Arthur had to endure, he deserved it. If I were in his shoes, I’m telling you right now that I would have given up in the first year *just keeping it real*

I really enjoyed the uniqueness that In the Shadows turned out to be. It comes to show what two great minds can accomplish when they work together in the medium that they master best.

Some quotes (from the ARC):

“By the time Cora and Thomas caught up to him, Arthur was already crouched in front of the door, working the lock. Thought they could not see it, he was angry, too, his swift, sure fingers shaking as they worked the lock. He could taste his rage; it was hard and metallic and no amount of swallowing rid him of it.”

“Charles sat next to Thom, on the banks of the stream hidden behind the town in a tall corpse of trees. It was a cold clear singing dream of a creek, and he did not miss New York a bit. Cora and Minnie were here, they were his for the summer, and he took that gift very seriously.”

“It was just a kiss, Cora. Kisses are like candy. Everyone should be able to enjoy them. And no one should take them seriously.”