Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
I entered a contest to win Shadowed Summer for my school book club a few months ago and I didn't win but the author was kind enough to send me a copy anyway. I knew I wanted to make time this summer to read it.
It has been a long time since I have read a really good ghost story. So I was thrilled and stuck like glue to the book until it was finished. It is a fast paced read that will scare just about any teenager. What I liked about the book is that it is spooky with a mix of reality, mystery and graveyard fun thrown in.
Iris, the main character, is very intuitive and connected to the ghost who is haunting her. He keeps saying, "Where y'at, Iris?", throughout the book. He surprises Iris at odd times with odd pranks and tricks. He wants Iris to find him and solve the mystery surrounding his disappearance but he is not very nice to Iris and she frequently gets in trouble with her Dad.
Are you an intuitive person? Have you ever been in contact with a ghost? As a highly intuitive child, I grew up in a haunted house that was over a hundred years old. So I have a special fondness for ghost stories. I have not seen ghosts mostly because I don't want to but I have felt their presence in the room and seen what they can do. I also spent a lot of time playing in the graveyard across the street from my Aunt Sherry's house when I was a child so I could relate to the games the characters played in the graveyard.
If you like a good ghost story be sure to read Shadowed Summer. If you are looking for other books like this one, I would recommend The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen and House of Spirits and Whispers. The True Story of a Haunted House by Annie Wilder. Annie Wilder lives here in Minnesota and has tea parties in her haunted house. I met Annie Wilder last year and plan on attending one of her parties soon.
Where will this book go? This book will go to my 13 year old niece Jasmine. I want her to read it. When she gives it back to me I will either put it on my classroom bookshelves or donate it to the school library.
Where y'at readers?
The cover doesn't appeal to me, but the story sounds like it'll make a good Halloween read! I didn't grow up in a house but I have seen ghosts a few times, which has always really frightened me. The last time was only a few months ago and it was the first time in like a decade! I didn't even realize it was a ghost. It was just a woman sitting behind the wheel of a parked car, staring at my family as we backed out of our parking spot. She was giving us a nasty look, as if she didn't quite approve of us (we're more rambuncious, she's the sort to have coordinating jogging suits). I watched her for at least 30 seconds, then turned to look behind me, and when I looked back, she was gone. My husband had been looking at the car too and said there was never anyone in there. I looked all around the car and inside (I must have looked crazy) but there was no one there.
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