In the Shadows Hardcover – April 29, 2014

In the Shadows was a book I’ve had on my TBR pile for a few years. I thought the idea of it was intriguing; telling the story through words AND illustrations. Kiersten White did the writing and Jim Di Bartolo did the artwork and it was a really intriguing story, though I’ll admit a bit confusing too as I was reading along. Then it all finally came together in the end when certain details are revealed and then BAM! total comprehension! Lol.Through Kiersten’s words we meet Minnie and Cora, two sisters who live in a boardinghouse run by their mother and when brothers, Thom and Charles come to spend a summer there things get interesting. There’s also Arthur, a young man who came to them with secrets abound. They’re all about to discover quite the plethora of secrets and mysteries that could be deadly.Through the artwork, we watch a young man with a telling scar on his face chase down an evil looking group of people. It becomes obvious that the young man and the people are not ordinary for no matter what seems to happen, they just pop back up again. There is the occasional year in the corner of the picture that lets us see that time is passing. It becomes obvious that the young man and the group are enemies and he wants to destroy them all.The artwork itself was beautiful! Having read a variety of different comics and graphic novels, I enjoy many different styles and elements that artists use! I’m not sure of the technical terms of the style itself, but I have to say I liked it! It was bit dark and gritty, much like the story being woven, so I figure it was the perfect match!As I mentioned before, the pictures were a bit confusing at first. They just happen randomly after a chapter’s worth of words. These pictures don’t have any coordinating words or dialog, it did make it hard to figure out what was going on. Also trying to figure out the connection to the pictures and the written story was also a little trying. The answer does come in the end though, and it was definitely one of those “Ahhh, I see!” moments!There was a great big mystery woven into the story as well, not the standard whodunit type, but more mystery-mystery if that makes sense! Lol. It was a lot of weird happenings and strange things that just don’t have a lot answers to them. It kind of made it hard to grasp what was going on throughout, but slowly, ever so slowly, there’s these little hints that clue you into some of the weirdness, but you still don’t know what that weirdness is exactly.I guess it was the weirdness of the mystery that bugged me. There was just too much mystery to the puzzle and not enough details to it. Really everything came together for me in one of the last few chapters of the story itself. Events occurred and then it was like a bright light of answers, the dots were connecting and it was just like OHHHHH! Crazy, but it worked!The ending itself was pretty remarkable too! While the journey to get there was a bit of a struggle and even when I thought I had things understood, I really didn’t. That learning curve was tough. Lol. I don’t want to dissuade you from reading this one if it’s of interest, because it was a really good read in the end. Once I could finally see how the dots were connected it made a huge difference! There’s lots of words and comparisons I’d like to use to help you in reading this, but I think the shock of that revelation is part of the point. Like with other books or movies, I guess you’re supposed to be confused until that revealing moment comes along and puts everything together!In the Shadows was a somewhat bizarre and twisted read but in the end, once the dots were connected, it was actually pretty awesome! It’s a read that will keep you on your toes and guessing until the very end and its shocking conclusion! Even after my initial confusion, I can easily say I’d read another book from these two in this kind of style again!Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars

A typical graphic novel is told in pictures and in words, but what if the story was actually two stories: one through words and one through images? Brian Selznick did it with surprising grace, and now Kiersten White and Jim DiBartolo have done it with In The Shadows, and the result is pretty awesome.Cora and Minnie's mother runs a boarding house where they all live together. Minnie has an insatiable desire for adventure (bordering on the side of reckless), while Cora prefers to play it safe, except when Minnie calls her out on her stuffiness and she has to live up to her little sister's expectations. But after Minnie convinced Cora to climb a tree and peer into the witch's window and she got caught, she has never been the same. Her father died the very next day, and Cora knows it was a curse the witch put on her. Arthur was brought to live with them over a year ago after his father disappeared, but the girls suspect there is more to the reason Arthur is with their family. When Charles and Thomas arrive for the summer, the group bands together, all for different reasons, but all for the hope of some fun (at Minnie's direction). Especially when Charles' illness and imminent death is a weight holding Thom down.When they visit the witch's house all together this time, Cora is more than just a little nervous. In fact, she is terrified, but the others convince her it will be fine. When they see the witch, Mary, they aren't prepare for what they witness- she hangs herself right in front of them. When they report it, however, something scary happens- her body isn't there anymore. When they see her again in town, she is with the scary man from the boarding house... and a woman Thom is convinced he heard speaking to his father right before he was sent to the boarding house. Something very mysterious is happening in this sleepy little tourist town, and Minnie and the others are going to get to the bottom of, regardless of the risks.Half this story is the one I have just described. It is written in short chapters like any other typical story. The other half of the story is written in illustrations and follows an entirely different set of characters. I haven't described the illustrated story because it isn't easy to describe it without giving away too many important details needed for the end of the story when everything comes together. But they do, and when they do, it is pretty gosh darned awesome. My biggest issue with this book throughout the entire story was that I had absolutely no idea what was happening in the illustrated story- until the very very end. Now, in hindsight, I can see it was designed that way and that is what made it such a cool story, so I should have just had faith in the authors.Another thing I struggled with was the ages of the kids. One moment they struck me as definite middle schoolers. Precocious, adventurous, and usually reckless abandonment regarding concern for consequences. But then the next moment they felt a little older, like young adults. It made them difficult to understand completely. While Minnie was the fun, impish, mischievous one, Cora and Arthur were the ones I really liked. Unfortunately, the story is really brief, so you don't get to spend a lot of time getting to know any of the characters very well. The important thing to know, though, is that this is one serious mystery! It was really a nail biter right to the end, and I did not see it coming. I really liked this story, and I hope White and DiBartolo give this format another shot!