The Shadow Society Paperback – September 24, 2013

Marie Rutkowski is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In this parallel universe or interdimensional world, Darcy Jones has spent almost all her life in the foster care system, or what she remembers of it. She doesn't remember her parents or how she came to be an orphan. She just remembers being found abandoned outside the Chicago Water Tower at the age of five. Now in her junior year of high school, she has been through as many foster homes as the number of years of her life, and people rumor her to be cursed, or at the very least, unwanted. Certainly there are some strange things about her, like an almost inhuman strength and unnatural fear of fire. But for the most part, she passes as a normal teenager with a love of art, a horror of pre-calculus, a desire to belong, and an attraction to the new, and very cute, boy in school. The one day someone tries to arrest her, with handcuffs made out of glass, that she shatters, and is promptly set on fire. And everything she knows about herself and who she is or what she is and the world she lives in is turned upside down.Like I said earlier, I am quickly becoming a huge fan of Marie Rutkowski's writing. I love that the story has a strong female protagonist who's strength goes so much beyond physical strength, but is characterized by her loyalty, friendships, and commitment to doing the right thing. She's also smart, level-headed, and funny. This book is a unique blend of art, poetry, literature, history, and some crazy vocabulary. I mean, who uses "defenestrate" in a normal conversation?!I'm not usually a fan of paranormal romances, and I generally don't read books about teenage girls falling for the new boy at school because I'm not interested and the gimmick is overused. If this storyline/plot/premise was written by any other author, I probably wouldn't read it, because it's not really my cup of tea. But Marie Rutkowski has a way of making her characters three-dimensional in a few well-written sentences. For example, the character of Savannah only shows up briefly on a few pages, but she made a lasting impression as a sarcastic, prickly, but endearing grandmother figure in my mind. Also, I love that her characters are smart and funny, a little reminiscent of how Maegan Whalen Turner writes her characters.

I loved the Shadow Society . I thought it was a really good book. The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars was because there’s a part towards the end of the book that made no sense to me. Maybe, the word unbelievable would be a more appropriate word.I think it was added in to tie up the book. It had to do with her friends but that’s all I’ll give away. ⁣⁣Other than that small bit I really liked the world building and characters. I find the concept of alternate universes fascinating. And I think the author did a good job making you accept the impossible. I’ve never been to Chicago before. But with the beautiful way the author brought the city to life. I honestly felt like I was walking the streets with Darcy. I also liked how the book dealt with prejudices. And how at the end you learn that if you put aside your differences aside you can change things. Maybe, not in a day but with time.

This is another young adult author you should check out. Her story was interesting and stimulated the mind. Her reader easily follows her on her imaginative journey. She writes well and maintains the reader's interest while displaying an elevated mastery of language. It is nice to see a young adult author that does not limit herself to a juvenile reading level. I was so intrigued by this book that I had to read another. I would have to say I am a new fan.

I mean, since I have Amazon Prime, it came here in two days like it should but the book had just been thrown in to a little cheap box with no tape around it, no bubble wrap to protect the book from harmful shipping... The corners we bent, the paper covering for the hard back book look slightly tattered, and there's some black mark on the top of the book. I would expect this MAYBE from a used book because you never know what you're going to get, but to order one that supposedly new? It's just a little disheartening. I like my books looking like I just walked out of the book store with them, I should have just gone the extra mile and paid a bit more directly from Amazon.

I love it. Got through 75% of the book in the first day. I'm sleep deprived because I couldn't put it down. The final chapters seemed familiar but it's forgivable because the rest of the book was so good.

I cannot say enough good things about this stand alone novel. The characters were vibrant and deep. The scenes were stunning and colorful. Bravo! So well written, I look forward to reading more by Rutkoski.

So it might be because it's 2:35AM, but this story was amazing. Engrossing, laugh out loud funny, smart, made my heart ache, break and stutter back to life right along with the main characters. Do yourself a favor, don't start this book at 8PM. Try for 8AM. Happy reading. :)

The prose and the pacing were well done. I got a little confused when Darcy first went to the other world. Characters were well done, and the ensemble cast worked here. Taylor Allen was a bit of a red herring, but an overall good read.

The Shadow Society è un fantasy originale e scritto bene. Per chi è stufo dei soliti vampiri ecco un'alternativa. Terrorismo, amore adolescente e amicizia. Lo consiglio vivamente per una piacevole lettura.