Teen review of "In the Shadow of Blackbirds" by Cat Winters

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
TEEN WINTERS

I love anything that has to do with ghosts, especially when the story is set near the turn of the last century. The spiritualism movement of the 1900′s is one that always fascinates me, and In the Shadow of Blackbirds sets the perfect backdrop for its story. Not only is it World War I, but the Spanish influenza is in full swing and death is abundant.

The area of spiritualism that the book focuses on is that of spirit photography. People would wait for hours to get their picture taken with the spirit of a deceased loved one.

Now, pretty much all those photos were fake. Photographers would use a technique called double exposure, where they would take a plate with the image of the “ghost” and use it again, creating the transparent figure. You can obviously tell that I find the subject to be fascinating.I loved that the author chose this particular time frame to set it all in. With the war and the flu, people were growing desperate for any kind of comfort that the ones they lost still lived on. And I haven’t really seen many young adult novels tackle this subject before, let alone be set during World War I.

I was surprised at how easily I fell into the pages of the story. Unlike some other historical novels I’ve read, this one didn’t feel too far removed for me to sink into. It also helps that I loved the main character. Mary Shelley was a complex and eclectic character, from her name to her goggles that could “show her the future.” She doesn’t believe in spirits at the beginning, and of course doesn’t believe that spirit photography is a real thing. She’s based in science. But then she falls into circumstances that require her to question if spirits are real, and what can she do to help those who need her to. That’s all I’ll say though. Spoilers!

Cat Winters does an excellent job of capturing that creeping eerie-ness of the spirit realm, and the fear and desperation of those willing to push through to it. There were many scenes that sent chills down my spine, which is high praise coming from someone who reads books like these all the time. And the story had elements of mystery to it that I really enjoyed trying to solve. I just can’t get over how wonderfully creepy and thought-provoking In the Shadow of Blackbirds was. I definitely can’t wait to see what else Cat Winters will write.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog

Recommended read: "Into That Forest"

Into That Forest by Louis Nowra
TEEN NOWRA

"When I think back, I see time were passing without me noticing. I lost me talking and lost me counting. It were the seasons I noticed: summer and autumn in the rain forests and hills and then winter down by the coast. We had four summers. That made me about ten years old and Becky a bit more than eleven. Four years to a child is like an eternity. Every year I live now passes quicker and quicker, but back then, a year were an eternity, so it were like a time without end."

Six year old Hannah and seven year old Becky survive a flood in the Tasmanian bush while out on a boat ride with Hannah's parents, who do not live. Hungry and cold, the girls follow a female tiger into the bush, who leads them to a cave where a male tiger also lives. While Hannah at once recognizes and accepts that the tigers (she names them Corinna and Dave) are taking the girls in as cubs, Becky resists. But eventually, in order to survive, Becky cannot fight her hunger, and joins in on a hunt.

For four years Hannah and Becky live with the tigers, hunting with them, sleeping next to them, and communicating with them through eye and body movements. They are able to differentiate between all the smells and animals in the bush and have the ability to see in the dark. They stop using language and walk on four legs most of the time. When the girls are rescued, they have trouble re-adjusting to human life, as though they are more tiger than human. Hannah and Becky's struggle to re-learn human behavior and speech is heartbreaking, especially because other kids and adults do not understand why the girls are so awkward.

Hannah narrates this story when she is 76 years old, apologizing at the beginning for her speech: "me language is bad cos I lost it and had to learn it again." Some readers may have trouble with her way of talking, but for me, her voice made the book more interesting than if she had been using perfect grammar.

I highly recommend Into That Forest if you...
* enjoy survival reads
* are interested in Australia
* are looking for something different to read

In addition to being a quick read, Into That Forest is a unique and very moving book (yes, I cried), and one of my favorite books of the year.

More new reads in a variety of genres

From historical fiction to steampunk, here are more of the latest arrivals to the collection!

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen Sixteen-year-old Sara's mother goes missing before she and Sara can move to a new town to escape Sara's physically abusive father.
	A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan After identifying a terrorist plot, a brilliant seventeen-year-old girl from Santa Monica, California, gets involved with the young FBI agent who is trying to ensure her safety.
Wanted by Heidi Ayarbe Seventeen-year-old Michal Garcia, a bookie at Carson City High School, raises the stakes in her illegal activities after she meets wealthy, risk-taking Josh Ellison.
	Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt With help from her best friend Ava and Ava's boyfriend Noah, Hannah is recovering from being dumped by her boyfriend Sebastian, but on the first day of their senior year in high school, Ava learns that Hannah and Noah betrayed her while she was away.
Fall from Grace by Charles Benoit Inspired by an intriguing girl who is nothing like his shallow girlfriend, a high school senior whose life has been mapped out by his parents makes some surprising decisions that lead him to take dangerous--but exhilarating--risks.
	Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.
Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories One year after the tsunami, this benefit fiction anthology helps teens learn about Japan and contribute to long-term relief efforts.
	Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross #2 in the Steampunk Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade ; the dangerous device Jasper stole from him for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens. From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens with supernatural abilities is on Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.
The Doomsday Vault by Steven Harper In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale.