Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Description (taken from Goodreads):
Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.
Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.
As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.
We're in the life of a regular teenager, Iris. Although she has violet eyes, she's living the average teen life with normal friends Nicole and Lexi. She's also got a love interest named Josh and things start to move forward with him. However, new people enter the school, and they seem to be paying special attention to Iris. Kyra, the best friend we all wished we had in high school, helps Iris deal with some difficult situations. And Patrick, a green-eyed beauty, just makes Iris question who she likes more. Oh, and did I mention that Iris' normal life is surrounded by vague shadows? And these shadows tend to stir up trouble wherever they show up?
I have some mixed reactions to this book. Did I like it? Yes. It is really easy to relate to Iris' life and struggles with being a teenager. I felt like I could fit into her shoes easily and feel the same self-doubt and struggles without question. However, the paranormal aspect was slow moving. It felt like it was slow growing until I hit a spot where I felt blinded by the paranormal. And I believe as a result, the beginning felt a little slow. Also, the shadows kind of left me feeling a little depressed.
The book has a contemporary feel to it (minus the shadows) at the beginning. But the shadows do get explained. And all of a sudden, we see things in a new light. And so does Iris. With how it ended, I'm hoping there's going to be another book (because I'm a sucker for paranormal, and I want to see more of it here).
It's tricky for me to say who I'd recommend this book to. Young adult fans who want to relive high school, definitely. If you're only slightly dabbling into the paranormal genre, I'd recommend this one as well. I will say fans of paranormal contemporary reads would most likely enjoy this read.
Thanks goes to
Dusty Crabtree for providing me a review copy.
Challenges:
Debut Author Challenge and Young Adult Reading Challenge
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