I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In the Shadows by Jim DiBartolo, Kiersten White Published by Scholastic Inc. on 2014-04-29
Pages: 384
Source: ARC from Publisher
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.
Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.
Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.
My Thoughts:
When I first heard about In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim DiBartolo I knew it was a book I simply must read. Not only is it a collaboration between incredibly talented people, it’s a unique format for telling a story that I couldn’t wait to explore. Kiersten White and Jim DiBartolo each tell part of the story… Kiersten through text and Jim through images. Yet In the Shadows is different from any other graphic or illustrated novel I’ve read. The book alternates between the “image” part of the story and the ‘text” part. While they work together, each tells a different part of the overall story. And oh what a story it is!
In the Shadows was one of those books that kept me guessing in the best possible ways. In the beginning I was a bit confused. I wasn’t sure how the two storylines fit together. But that’s really part of the mystery of the story! When I began looking at each part as it’s own story, and then trying to make predictions about how they come together, it all clicked. The way the text and images were woven into a larger story kept me engaged throughout the book.
It was also a really evocative reading experience. Both the text and the images were just so well done. I liked experiencing the way the text made me care about the characters and the story right along side the way the images did that for me in another way. Isn’t it cool, how many ways there are to share stories?!?
You may have noticed that I’m keeping this pretty vague in regards to story specifics. One of my favorite parts about reading In the Shadows was that I had no idea what would happen next. I don’t want to spoil that for anyone else! I will say that the characters were fascinating and the story even more so!
I was so incredibly impressed and enthralled with In the Shadows. Kiersten White and Jim DiBartolo both excel at telling their story. Gorgeous prose, gorgeous illustrations, gorgeous book all around. Highly recommended.
Here’s a teaser of the images:
And here are some of the images paired up with the text:
Courtney @ Courtney Reads A Lot
ooooooo I just might have to check this out! the cover is gorgeous and I’m definitely intrigued! Great review 🙂