The Shadows

As a novelist myself, I want to say that the writing in this book for kids is superb, so much so that an adult would enjoy it as well. Ms. West is able to perfectly capture the feelings of an 11 year old girl in the midst of some very strange happenings. It is a page turner of a novel. The illustrations are great. I am looking forward to reading more in this series, even though I am 63. Congratulations, Ms. West for a fine, fine piece of work. I went to our local bookstore and told them to stock it, as it will be a best-seller. Priscilla Cogan

Last night I finished up THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE: THE SHADOWS, and ohmigosh it was good. It's one of those books where the adult in me thinks, (cue high-pitched nasally adult voice) "Oh, I really like this story. What nice atmosphere. How unique," and the kid in me is like, (cue my real voice) "Ahhh! That's scary. Wow--cool. I want to do that! She did what? The end? Where's the next book!?!?" I was lucky enough to interview the author, Jacqueline West, here: [...]. THE SHADOWS is a fast paced read set in Olive Dunwoody's new home--a crumbling Victorian house brimming with rooms to explore and curiosities to discover. Her slightly absent minded, but brilliantly (and hilariously) mathematical parents have no clue what kinds of secrets their home holds. Olive, however, finds herself unraveling a dark and deadly mystery, aided only by three cats and a bratty boy. Atmosphere: Really old house with hidden rooms, paintings you can travel through, cool old spectacles, creepy basements, that prickle at the back of your neck when you know something's not right, overgrown backyards, nosey neighbors, and cats with attitude. In a word: awesome. Language: Jacqueline West is also an award winning poet, and she has this beautiful knack for clear, concise, and completely unique description. There's also lots of witty dialogue that kept me smiling and laughing throughout the book. If you're looking for a fun Middle Grade read, you should seriously check this book out. There's also a pretty cool website for the book that includes sample chapters and clips from the audiobook:[...].

Jacqueline West has written a superb premier novel. It is about a girl named Olivia who moves into an old Victorian house. The house is filled with secrets including three strange cats and a pair of glasses that allow Olivia to enter the paintings. As Olivia explores she discovers the house is hiding a secret and she tries to solve the mystery of her house an incredible adventure unfolds. The adventure is reminecent of Narnia with the multiple worlds formula and the author even references Narnia at one point. This is an absolutely superb book by a new author. Read alike: 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson.

Eleven-year-old Olive Dunwoody leads a lonely life. She is blessed to have the love of her parents, but they are very dedicated mathematicians who work at the university, so she doesn't have much in common with them. She also doesn't appear to have much luck making friends. The kids at school and in the apartment building never want to include her, even when the teachers insist. And as soon as Olive steps away, they seem to forget all about her. With her record for making friends (or the lack thereof), Olive isn't expecting any different results when her parents buy the ancient mansion on Linden Street and they move into the new neighborhood. It will be just the three of them in this huge house, and the loneliness looms in all of the strange corners and empty rooms. It must have been similar for the previous owner; old Ms. McMartin lived there all by herself, along with her three cats. That is, until she died, right there in the mansion. Olive does find parts of the house interesting, such as the zillions of paintings scattered on the walls, and the closets and drawers filled with old clothes and various items, including a pair of old glasses. But other locations are a bit creepy, like the gloomy basement where she feels like she's being watched, and the one painting in the hall where she could swear she sees a white shape moving through the trees. And then things really start to get weird. Olive gets a visitor in the middle of the night. One of old Ms. McMartin's cats slips in through her bedroom window and introduces himself. His name is Horatio, and he comes with a warning: something in the house doesn't want them there. And then Olive discovers that when she puts on those old glasses, she can actually climb into the paintings. But Olive, beware. There's something evil lurking inside those paintings --- and it wants you gone. Jacqueline West displays her writing talents beautifully in her debut novel. She has dived into her vivid imagination, dragging out an outrageous adventure filled with creepy bad guys and clever mysteries. She has a sneaky sense of humor that unexpectedly oozes out in just the right places. Olive and the three cats are full of spunk, enthusiasm and personality, and by the end of the book, they feel like good friends. West also has a gift for description that pulls the reader right into the story. Another bonus is the beautiful illustrations scattered throughout; Poly Bernatene has added a special visual treat that enhances the reading experience. THE SHADOWS is creative, exciting, hilarious, spooky, mysterious, adventurous, and heaps of fun, all wrapped between two covers. Readers will be looking forward to the second installment in the Books of Elsewhere series.

The Dunwoody family move into a fixer upper Victorian mansion left vacant when elderly Ms. McMartin died. Eleven year old Olive finds the house odd, but her mathematical minded parents see nothing out of the ordinary starting with the inability to remove the strange drawings from the wall, but upon a closer look she sees things moving inside the paintings. Looking around the house, Olive finds glasses that she puts on for fun. Instead of blur, she realizes she enter the pictures and travel in a realm that sort of looks like her natural one, but seems shadowy and too quiet to the stunned tweener. Horatio the cat warns her not to stay too long in their world and never lose the glasses if she is on this side of the frame. Olive also meets raging Morton who claims he is from her side of the divide, but was thrown into the picture world because he knew too much. As she learns more about the house and its contents, Olive fears something evil wants to keep her silent in order for her not to reveal what the darkness wants to do to the light. With illustrations from Poly Bernatene enhancing the strong haunted house mystery, Jacqueline West provides an exhilarating middle school age tale. Fast-paced, young readers will want to join courageous Olive as she investigates the goings-on inside the painting world and the house, but is unsure who to trust with her growing concerns especially in light of her parents thinking logically that she is playing make believe. Harriet Klausner