The Shadow Girl

March 15, 2013
An 18-year-old and her imaginary friend investigate her parents' dark secrets. Lily's been home-schooled all her life, but she's not lonely. She has friends: loyal Wyatt, punky Sylvie and Iris, the invisible girl who's been speaking to her since she was 4. Aiming for college, Lily is ready for her life to change, but it changes too much when her father dies in a terrible accident. Friction worsens between Lily and her grieving, elderly mother as the tragedy exposes secrets Lily needs to understand. Why were her parents always so secretive? Why are there photos that look like Lily's in places she's never been? Why is there a hidden violin in her father's workshop--and why is Lily convinced she would be able to play it? Clearly it has something to do with her father's secret past in bioengineering; Lily has frightening and inexplicable memories of scientists. Meanwhile, an attractive stranger, new to their tiny mountain town, is courting Lily. Is Wyatt's seething distrust mere jealousy, or does the stranger have nefarious plans? While the premise is science fiction, the science itself is hand-wavy. With the coming-of-age and love triangle taking center stage, rather than the science or its ethics, a nicely paced reveal of Lily's mystery devolves to an anticlimactic, feel-good conclusion. Promising start, disappointing conclusion (Science fiction. 13 & up)

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July 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-Lily Winston has never truly been alone. Her "shadow girl," Iris, is always with her, whispering in her mind, keeping her company. On her 17th birthday, Iris saves Lily's life, but is unable to save her father from dying in a tragic accident. In the wake of his death, Lily's mother retreats into her grief and as her daughter tries to cope, she learns that her parents have been keeping secrets from her. As Lily begins delving into her parents' past, she confides in both her best friend, Wyatt, and the intriguing new guy in town, Ty, with her deepest secret. It turns out that Ty has secrets of his own, having come to Silver Lake to search specifically for Lily's father. Lily must decide who she can trust as she comes to learn her own true identity. Archer builds suspense beautifully, revealing small secrets one by one, building Lily's discoveries into one culminating life-altering event. Intermingled within the mystery of Lily's identity are her conflicting feelings for Wyatt and Ty, as well as her guilt and grief over her father's death. As the story concludes and Lily determines where she will go from here, the only detraction is one confrontation that seemed to be looming, but never actually comes to fruition. Aside from that, Lily's story is one that will draw in most readers with its well-done blend of suspense, mystery, and romance.-Jessica Miller, West Springfield Public Library, MA

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