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Book Review of Shadow Baby

Shadow Baby
Shadow Baby
Author: Alison McGhee
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
maranda avatar reviewed on + 6 more book reviews


I'm typically an "Oprah's Book Club" sort of reader, and I tried this book based on the fact that it's part of the Today Book Club. I enjoyed this book a lot - at first I was skeptical because it seemed slow, but I stuck with it, fortunately, because the latter half of the book is most touching.

You might be put off at first by the "grown-up" voice seemingly uncharacteristic of the 11-year-old narrator, but the author does a great job of developing this character and you'll soon see that she's wise beyond her years. This story has somewhat of an unfortunate, unforseen twist as well. It's one of those books that you might seem "iffy" about at first, but if you follow it through to the end you will likely appreciate yourself for doing so.

I found the hardest part (or maybe most confusing) is trying to understand the stories the narrator makes up, and being able to seperate them from reality. If you don't pay close attention to every page and piece of the story, I can see where a reader might get confused or irritated by this.

"Shadow Baby" is a treasure. If you are a fan of obscure authors with books of literary merit, give this one a try. It might not be the most epic reading you will ever do, but it will pull at your heartstrings without a doubt.