Book Review: The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere #1) by Jacqueline West

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Spooky atmosphere kept throughout

Cons: Answers a little slow in coming

The Bottom Line: 

Spooky tale for kids

That will thrill but not frighten

Olive makes the book

Pre-Teens Looking for a Creepy Supernatural Story Will be Happy

I generally avoid supernatural themed stories.  When I first heard of The Books of Elsewhere Volume 1: The Shadows, I thought it was more of a fantasy story.  It wasn't what I expected, but I still enjoyed it.

Olive Dunwoody's parents have finally decided to move out of the succession of apartments they've always lived in and buy a house.  And what a house.  No one has been in it since Old Ms. McMartin died several months ago, and it comes complete with all the furniture and pictures on the walls.  It's huge, and there is plenty for Olive to explore.

However, their first night there, Olive begins to suspect something is wrong with the house.  She thinks she sees something moving in the painting outside her room.  She feels like someone is watching her in the basement.  Is it her imagination or is something sinister happening in her new home?

Author Jacqueline West does a good job of slowly building tension.  It starts slowly, but it never really relaxes as the story progresses.  Yes, there are some funny parts, especially with Olive's parents who are big math people.  When they were around, you were sure to get a laugh.  But they are minor characters and the tension just keeps building until the climax.

I got a little frustrated with the book near the middle because it felt like we were getting no answers to the questions we had.  The clues Olive said she had were just more mysteries as far as I was concerned.  Once we do get answers late in the story, it launches us into the climax, so it was probably best we didn't find out what was truly happening until then.

This book is Olive's story.  While it is told third person, it is very limited third person and we spend every page with her.  There are one or two characters beyond her who get some development, but most of the characters don't appear in the book enough to be fully developed.  They are developed enough for their role in the story, so it's not a problem.

Olive, on the other hand, is a wonder character.  She is scared out enough early on to allow the reader to get lost in the story.  And yet her curiosity and resourcefulness are still real enough that we always buy her actions that propel the story forward.

The book is targeted at late elementary school, and I think that's probably about right.  That age group shouldn't have any trouble with the language, and I think the story will scare them without truly frightening them.  A lot of that is from Olive's courage and determination.

I am curious about where the author will take the story, so I might have to pick up the sequel.  The Books of Elsewhere Volume 1: The Shadows was a good read for something I normally wouldn't have chosen to read.