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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 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
byChautona Havig

Before I began the interview with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel’s Song, I kind of went crazy and left it in to give you a chuckle. But Naomi and I chat about her upcoming release, why she chose to write about Ezekiel, and what areas she focused on. Listen in and hear her heart for the Word and for stimulating readers to love it and live it.

Oh, and that song I couldn’t remember? Well, I found it after a BUNCH of hunting on YouTube. Here you go!

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

Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?

There’s SO much to write about in Ezekiel, but after talking to Naomi Craig, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp of where she’s taking this book without feeling like I don’t need to read it now that we chatted, and that’s always great. Naomi shows service in the temple, how Ezekiel could have had a mentorish relationship under Jeremiah, and even what kind of woman his wife might have been.

Personally, I love the “Darcy-ish” meeting where he totally insults her and accuses her of being an idolatress. Let me tell you something. I cannot wait to read that! Seriously!

God had Ezekiel do a lot of weird things, and I always wondered how he managed some of it, but Naomi brings out possibilities by focusing on this wife that we don’t know much (anything) about. How cool is that?

Naomi also gave us a couple of glimpses into what’s coming next!

She’s #TeamBlue in the Keeping Christmas novella collections, writing about Herod’s palace and the wise men’s appearance looking for “the King of the Jews.”  And… from a scribe’s perspective!  How cool is that?

Also… next up is a book about a woman in Ephriam’s lineage who built three cities. A woman credited with the building of these cities!  I cannot wait! I love how Naomi focuses on how strong Biblical women were. So often we think of them as downtrodden and little more than cattle, but God shows how much He loves His daughters in the Word, and He definitely allows them to shine. We saw that in Naomi’s debut novel Rahab’s Courage.

Ezekiel’s Song by Naomi Craig

A prophet’s heart broken, a woman’s joy gone. What does Yahweh have planned for His people?

On the brink of Jerusalem’s demise, devoted priest, Ezekiel, sees the insincerity of Judah’s worship. Despite his efforts to call the people back to true worship of Yahweh, priests, artisans, valiant warriors, and royals are exiled to Babylon. When God gives him messages of continued judgment for the people in his homeland, his heart breaks. How can he minister to the people from so far away?

The presence of the Lord is tangible when Shiriel sings in the temple, and her voice prepares the hearts of many to worship. When she is exiled to Babylon, her faith is shaken. Does the Lord’s presence extend beyond Jerusalem and His holy temple?

Ezekiel is struck mute and paralyzed as he begins his prophetic ministry, and Shiriel devises a plan to get the Lord’s message back to the unfaithful people of Judah. Shiriel struggles with discontentment as serving the Lord looks nothing like she’d imagined. Can she provide for her family and carry out her husband’s ministry when her joy is gone, and her own dreams are placed on hold?

How will Yahweh save His people from themselves? Find out in Ezekiel’s Song!

Ezekiel’s Song is available at 30% off paperback and at a discount for Kindle, too through release week, so visit Naomi’s WEBSITE for more information.

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Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
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Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road t Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road trip isn’t always fun, but it was a bonding experience for Liz and her son, Matt.

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If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing wit If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing with people.
Harper Brevig has two skills—picking out snarky bookish t-shirts and alienating customers. 
Oh, and racking up bills out of thin air. Make that three skills. She loves the elderly and the very 
young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
Milton Coleridge and his parrotlet Atticus (not Finch) come to the rescue… but is it too late to 
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If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing wit If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing with people.
Harper Brevig has two skills—picking out snarky bookish t-shirts and alienating customers. 
Oh, and racking up bills out of thin air. Make that three skills. She loves the elderly and the very 
young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
Milton Coleridge and his parrotlet Atticus (not Finch) come to the rescue… but is it too late to 
save this bookstore?
Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings Series releases on November 2, 
2022. Link to more information is in my bio! 
#amwriting
#amreading
#bookishbooks
#bookstrings
#comingsoon
#ChristianFiction
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