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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

When Shadows Take on New Motives Readers Better Beware

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

The long-awaited, Shadow is just as wonderful as Kara Swanson's Dust, & twice as powerful. Lovers of the first book won't want to put it down. via @chautonahavig

Last year, an author made me fall in love with a story I’d always hated.  Or, perhaps a better way of saying it is: last year an author retold and expanded on a story I’d never liked… and I LOVED what she did. So, when the opportunity for me to read a review copy of book two came along it was kind of a no-brainer.

That first book hadn’t exactly ended on a cliff-hanger… but yeah. It did, too. The best kind, right?  So what would she do after sprinkling pixie Dust all over the literary world?  Well, she tackled Shadow (and not the old, “me… and my shadow… strolling down the av-en-ue…”).

shadow review

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When Shadows Take on New Motives Readers Better Beware

I had forgotten all about the part in Peter Pan where Peter cuts off his shadow. Maybe it is just the Disney rendition of it?  I don’t know. But in Shadow, Kara Swanson picks up with the subtle but rich symbolism and near allegory she used in Dust and runs with it.

Bit by bit, layer by layer, she lays out the entire story with all the questions answered before we ever get to the reveal, and yet I couldn’t pin it down.  I could see the answer just sitting there, but I never knew what it meant!  Brilliant writing?  Probably. My lack of knowledge or interest in the original stories of Neverland?  I’m sure it played into the whole thing. In fact, I suspect there’s a lot of both of those, now that I think of it.

Here’s the thing, though. It doesn’t matter. This story is so rich, deep, heartbreaking, and inspiring that she could have handed me every clue in a neatly organized report, or sprung them all on me a second before the reveal, and I doubt that I would have cared.

Because this book… is that amazing.

Like many fantasy works, Shadow is darker than its predecessor.  And I’m glad, actually. With the parallels I see between this story and the redemption story of Jesus, it needs to be. Think about it. We don’t see the Light for the brilliance it is, without first acknowledging darkness.

That’s another parallel to the first book. In that one, I saw a similarity between the pixie dust and the blood of Christ (lots of poetic license, but it’s there).  In this one, I saw a parallel to the solution to the overarching problem and the beauty of Christ’s love for His bride… the church.

Kara Swanson is a master of taking a story that I probably missed the point of as a child and making it come to life and teach me as an adult.  If that isn’t beautiful, what is? I’m in love with the world she created, and I want more. But I think this is it.  I think we have the end of Peter, Claire, and Connor.

One last thing.

My more literary, critical self wants to attack one choice she made at the end. I want to say it was convenient and a problem overused in fantasy. I want to denounce that choice. Here’s the thing, though.  I can’t. There are subtle nuances that come in because she chose to do it. Readers get an extra measure of satisfaction they otherwise wouldn’t have because Kara knew her story best and chose to do what was truly best instead of what was “textbook best” (and different people would have pointed to different textbooks!).

In the end, I think she made the best decision to ensure that Shadow reveals the entire story that needed to be told.

I recommend Shadow to lovers of Peter Pan, lovers of Dust, lovers of fantasy and symbolic literature. I don’t recommend it for readers who are offended by magical elements in fantasy.

Shadow is on tour with Celebrate Lit.

ShadowAbout the Book

Book:  Shadow

Author: Kara Swanson

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Release date: July 13, 2021

Peter Pan has crash-landed back on Neverland. But this is not the island he remembers.

Desperate to rescue Claire and the fractured Lost Boys, Peter must unravel what truly tore his dreamland apart. But with each step, he is haunted by more of his own broken memories. Not even Pan himself is what he seems.

Claire Kenton is chained to a pirate ship, watching the wreckage of Neverland rocked by tempests. When she finally finds her brother, Connor is every bit as shattered as the island. Claire may have pixie dust flowing in her veins—but the light of Neverland is flickering dangerously close to going out forever.

To rescue Neverland from the inescapable shadow, the boy who never grew up and the girl who grew up too fast will have to sacrifice the only thing they have left: each other.

kara swanson shadowAbout the Author

As the daughter of missionaries, Kara Swanson spent her childhood running barefoot through the lush jungles of Papua New Guinea. Able to relate with characters dropped into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the fantasy genre.

The award-winning author of The Girl Who Could See, Kara is passionate about crafting stories of light-shattering darkness, connecting with readers, and becoming best friends with a mermaid—though not necessarily in that order. Kara chats about coffee, fairytales, and bookish things online (@karaswansonauthor) and at karaswanson.com.

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Comments

  1. Andrea Stoeckel says

    August 1, 2021 at 11:21 am

    WOW, This book/these books sound amazing

    Reply
  2. Rita Wray says

    August 1, 2021 at 9:25 am

    Sounds like a great read.

    Reply
  3. Amelia says

    August 1, 2021 at 9:18 am

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
byChautona Havig

Terry Garner joined me tonight to chat about his fascinating Biblical Fiction series, Magi Journey. Starting way back in Assyria, through Babylon, and into Persia, the series chronicles two timelines–first that of the Israelite kings, and then of a fascinating family back in Persia… Listen in to see the hope this Magi family found in Scripture and how it led them to Bethlehem. 

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

This isn’t just another “traveling to Bethlehem with gold” story of the Magi. No, Terry Garner links the Israelite kings from Ahaz through the destruction of the temple and into captivity with a family who discovers that God has promised redemption for those outside Israel as well. Follow a physical and a faith journey across the ages all the way to the hope of an age.

With extensive and meticulous research, Terry Garner looks at Scripture and compares it with historical secular accounts. Even more exciting, however, are the things he discovered along the way. He talks about Jewish historians discounting Scriptural accounts of historical events to explain away the supernatural as if God Almighty… isn’t!

And then, Terry explains how he’s also writing a nonfiction book to help readers pull all the pieces from Scripture and see what God has promised us… so that we may know His plans. I’m excited about that book, but I confess, learning he’s working on a spinoff of the Magi series excited me even more. EEEP!

Terry Garner has all his books on sale right now!

The paperbacks are on sale for 9.95 and the box set (also available on Kindle Unlimited) is on sale for 4.99!

Magi Journey by Terry Garner

A sweeping historical saga from the courts of Tiglath-Piliser III in Assyria to the sleepy town of Bethlehem. History is seen through the eyes of the Magi as they journey from 734 BC to -0- AD.

Explore with the Magi the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Witness God’s judgment on Israel, Assyria, and Babylon. And rejoice in the redemption of Israel and the coming of the Messiah.

Join the Magi as they answer the question that is critical to every man and woman, “Who Is This Messiah?”

Learn more about Terry on his WEBSITE.

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Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
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