Shadows

Gr 10 Up—Shadows picks up where Ashes (Egmont, 2011) left off, with no recap of the multiple characters, their relationships, or their complicated circumstances. This novel is divided into four distinct story lines: Alex has been captured by a group of sadistic, cannibalistic Changed, and she doesn't know whether they are saving her for lunch… or for something worse. Tom was rescued by an elderly couple and is now searching for Alex. He faces the threats of bounty hunters and other humans driven to desperation in evil times. Chris has become an enemy of Rule, and Peter is in trouble at the hands of a man with diabolical plans for the Changed. At the center of all these stories is the suspicion that the Change is far from over and the fear of what will happen to the young people who didn't immediately become flesh-eating monsters when the EMP swept through the sky. There's not a whole lot of room-or need-for character development here because of the constant peril. What the book lacks in nuanced characters it makes up for in plot and description. Ashes was violent, but this book takes the bloodshed to a whole new level with unsparingly gory descriptions of eyeball-eating teenagers, brutal injuries, and bloody battles. The author also seems to be trying to say something about what might happen to communication when typical means of staying informed are shut down: throughout the different story lines, rumor and miscommunication abound to the extent that readers are unsure of what is true. And, as with the first volume, a cliff-hanger ending means that most of these questions won't be answered.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO