Book: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Release date: May 4th, 2010
Source: Author
My Summary:
When Aura’s boyfriend Logan dies after what should have been the best night of his life, she’s left feeling a bit guilty over the circumstances, not to mention heartbroken at losing him. But Logan isn’t completely gone, he’s still hanging around as a ghost. Aura can see him because she’s one of the lucky (yeah, right) people to have been born after the Shift.
Then Zachary transfers in, and he’s like a kindred spirit. He gets her, he listens, and a killer accent doesn’t hurt either. He's there -- alive -- but Logan's still there too, and Aura isn't quite ready to give up on him yet.
To top it all off, Aura has other things to deal with: the mystery of who her dad is, secrets about her mom's past, and even the Shift itself.
Review: A unique ghost story filled with realistic characters and environments, Shade is astounding.
Aura is one of the more realistic characters I've come across in the past year, to the point where I can even see a few of the people I know actually sharing a lot of her qualities. She's easy to relate with, and she has an amusing sense of humor (a bit more on the passive, sarcastic side). The love interests (Zachary and Logan) are both great in different ways, but by the end I preferred one over the other.
Shade is one of those novels where I think I know exactly what will happen, but then I find myself surprised halfway through. I think a lot of readers can find something to enjoy in Shade.
Highlights: The best compliment I could pay this novel and it's author is the realism. Aura is very realistic, she could have been someone I knew back in high school. Not only that, but I can honestly see her way of life (with ghosts) being completely normal. The ending was incredible, and not what I was expecting. The sequel, Shift, is bound to be just as amazing.
Lowlights: There were a few moments that seemed a bit slow, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
Rating: