Book Review–The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski

 

This is the 27th book from my 114 in 2014 Reading Challenge.

Picture Source: Goodreads.com

The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski
Published October 16th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

 

Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.

Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.

As if she were his enemy.

When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .

In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won’t soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense. 

 

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At first, I thought this book was going to be another cliche supernatural romance but it ended up surprising me. It’s well written and from an interesting and mysterious POV–a orphaned teenager named Darcy. While Darcy has a foster mother, she’s been through several homes and schools and can’t seem to remember what happened to her as a child aside from the moment she was taken into the system. Darcy has a pretty interesting back story but you’ll have to read to almost the end of the book to discover what it is. I’m also a sucker for any character, particularly a main character, who has love for art.

The side characters were pretty awesome, too. Darcy has this great group of friends who really come to life. And while it took at least half of the book, I eventually warmed up to and learned to like the love interest. You’ll see why. I enjoyed the relationships in this story, too. Not just with the love interest, but also between Darcy and her friends as well as her foster mother. Also Savannah and Uncle “Bear.”

The plot was fast-paced, mysterious, and fun. The settings were also pretty awesome. I’m a bit surprised that this isn’t a series, but at the same time I feel it wrapped itself up pretty well. While not perfect, this was a very good read. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author.