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Shadow Baby
Shadow Baby
Author: Alison McGhee
Clara first spies him through the crack in the stained-glass window of her church, lighting a string of handmade lanterns in the Adirondack woods. A lone old man, Georg Kominsky moves stealthily among the shadow world of his hanging, glittering creations. — In Alison McGhee's stunning novel Shadow Baby, eleven-year-old Clara is struggling to find...  more »
Info icon
ISBN-13: 9780312423773
ISBN-10: 0312423772
Publication Date: 8/2003
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 101

3.7 stars, based on 101 ratings
Publisher: Picador USA
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

katzpawz avatar reviewed Shadow Baby on + 281 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Somebody PLEASE read this book! It will get under you skin and make you look at 11-year old kids in a whole new way! I LOVE THIS BOOK!
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Beautifully written. I couldn't put it down. I won't be reposting this book for a while, as I have been lending it to everyone I know. I've also added everything Alison McGhee has written to my Wish List.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Interesting story told from a child's point of view. It's a short little tale, easily read in a day.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A wonderfully written and touching story. I loved the quirky main character, Clara. A good read!
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This was a lovely and touching story. A single mom with a vague past and her daughter, an imaginative young girl who befriends an old man for a school assignment. Clara proceeds to find out much about his past, embellishing in the gaps. A simple man, he has much to teach her about how he looks at the world, how people survive amidst hardship. The knowledge he gives her, mostly through example, helps her survive her own very difficult time. A reminder of all there is to learn from everyone we meet, to have deep respect for all the difficult secrets in each persons life. The message in this sweet book will stay with me. I would highly recommend it. Sometimes what seem the simplest lessons, the ones we almost overlook in our hurry through life, are the most profound...
Read All 37 Book Reviews of "Shadow Baby"

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ashultz avatar reviewed Shadow Baby on + 15 more book reviews
This is a brooding story of a young girl who is troubled by her family life and builds a friendship with an elderly man in her town. They share stories and take care of each other. It's a beautiful and sad story.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 6 more book reviews
Wonderfully written story of an unusual friendship between a homeless man and a young girl. Good one for a book club. Ours did it and loved it.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 48 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book. Clara the 11 year old is a character that put a smile on your face AND a wrinkle in you brow with some of the things she comes up with. Sad and heartwarming at the same time. I think a lot of characters can be true to life. Nothing in this book is a stretch of the imagination....unless you count Clara's imagination.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 29 more book reviews
I loved the way this writer presented this character. I can truly picture this preteen and all her quirks and lovely ways. Loved her and the book. Loved the way the writer finished the book and all was realized (no loose strings!).
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 636 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The eleven-year-old narrator was fascinating and very endearing. And though the story itself was quite sad, the manner in which it is told was surprisingly fresh and full of beauty. I really enjoyed Clara's relationship with books, as well as her relationship with the truth. It was a sweet, sad story and one that makes me want to read another book by this author.
reviewed Shadow Baby on + 164 more book reviews
The writing is lovely, and I very much enjoyed all of Clara's (the main character) stories - she has a good voice. It's also fun to read a book set in an area you know pretty well, which is true for me of upstate New York. But still I ended up thinking there was probably more here to tell. This is a quick read - maybe a little too quick - and a story very gently told.


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