Helpful Score: 2
Short and Sweet:
I absolutely loved this book. It was gorgeous, interesting, creepy, heartbreaking, insightful. Just a stunning book. I can't recommend this one enough!
To Elaborate....
In the Shadow of Blackbirds is one of those books I almost didn't pick up. I am fascinated by WWI, especially the year 1918 and the Spanish influenza, but I wasn't as interested in the second half of the books blurb concerning the spiritual fascination of the time. I am SO glad I did pick it up. This was just one of those books that I couldn't put down. I didn't want to sleep, or eat, or leave my house. :) It was an experience.
It is 1918. The war and the influenza pandemic have made the world a grave, dreary place. There are coffins lining the streets. People wrap their faces in gauze to stave off illness, keep to themselves, and fear one another. It is a heavy and hopeless time.
Mary Shelley, named after the author of Frankenstein, has always been an eccentric girl. Fascinated by the way things work, electricity, and books she is, as her childhood friend and sweetheart, Stephen, fondly calls her: 'original.' After her father is arrested for being unsupportive of the war, Mary is forced to move in with her Aunt Eva. Soon after, Stephen, the boy she loves, dies at war and Mary, half-crazed with grief, rushes out into a dangerous storm, is struck by lightning, and dies.... just for a moment.
From then on Mary feels different. She can taste emotion and sense the dead; Stephen in particular. His desperate pleas to 'keep him with her' and his incoherent rants about being attacked by blackbirds have Mary more than a little shaken up. Driven by her desire to put his spirit to rest, Mary investigates the details of Stephen's death and tries to piece together what truly happened to him before the flu claims her life or she loses her mind.
I was so intensely invested in the outcome of this story. I really cared for and wanted peace for them. Their love story is one I ached for. Mary and Stephen are smart and passionate characters who care for each other because of real, admirable qualities.
Cat Winters has done a fantastic job. She puts you in 1918. You experience in some small way the anxiety, desperation and terror of death and disease. It's an dark, emotional ride, but it's a near perfect one. (Originally published @iheartyafiction.blogspot.com)
I absolutely loved this book. It was gorgeous, interesting, creepy, heartbreaking, insightful. Just a stunning book. I can't recommend this one enough!
To Elaborate....
In the Shadow of Blackbirds is one of those books I almost didn't pick up. I am fascinated by WWI, especially the year 1918 and the Spanish influenza, but I wasn't as interested in the second half of the books blurb concerning the spiritual fascination of the time. I am SO glad I did pick it up. This was just one of those books that I couldn't put down. I didn't want to sleep, or eat, or leave my house. :) It was an experience.
It is 1918. The war and the influenza pandemic have made the world a grave, dreary place. There are coffins lining the streets. People wrap their faces in gauze to stave off illness, keep to themselves, and fear one another. It is a heavy and hopeless time.
Mary Shelley, named after the author of Frankenstein, has always been an eccentric girl. Fascinated by the way things work, electricity, and books she is, as her childhood friend and sweetheart, Stephen, fondly calls her: 'original.' After her father is arrested for being unsupportive of the war, Mary is forced to move in with her Aunt Eva. Soon after, Stephen, the boy she loves, dies at war and Mary, half-crazed with grief, rushes out into a dangerous storm, is struck by lightning, and dies.... just for a moment.
From then on Mary feels different. She can taste emotion and sense the dead; Stephen in particular. His desperate pleas to 'keep him with her' and his incoherent rants about being attacked by blackbirds have Mary more than a little shaken up. Driven by her desire to put his spirit to rest, Mary investigates the details of Stephen's death and tries to piece together what truly happened to him before the flu claims her life or she loses her mind.
I was so intensely invested in the outcome of this story. I really cared for and wanted peace for them. Their love story is one I ached for. Mary and Stephen are smart and passionate characters who care for each other because of real, admirable qualities.
Cat Winters has done a fantastic job. She puts you in 1918. You experience in some small way the anxiety, desperation and terror of death and disease. It's an dark, emotional ride, but it's a near perfect one. (Originally published @iheartyafiction.blogspot.com)
This was an very interesting book set during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918. What really sets this book apart from other young adult books is the setting. There is just so much going on that humanity is struggling with. World War I is in full swing, Americans are paranoid, and the flu is killing people by the millions.
Amidst all this we meet sixteen year old Mary Shelley Black who has been sent from Portland to San Diego to live with her aunt after her father is arrested for anti-war sentiment.
Mary Shelley had a sweetheart, Stephen, but he went off to war. Stephen's brother has turned to spiritual photography in order to make a living. People are absolutely desperate to see their deceased loved ones, whether they died of influenza or war. Stephen's brother Julius is more than happy to take advantage of this.
Mary Shelley loves everything mechanical and definitely doesn't believe in ghosts. However after some horrible events ghostly things start happening around her that she can't explain. I really enjoyed Mary Shelley and her innovation and curiosity. She was an excellent character and very entertaining to read about.
This book is a wonderful look at the history of the year 1918. It looks into society at that time, medical beliefs, and spiritual beliefs. We get to see women starting to take their place as workers in society. We get to see the strange medical practices people thought would keep the flu away. It is a period of time where humanity is struggling to go on with life.
The whole story has this mystical paranormal element woven through as well which makes things even more intriguing. It's mostly a mystery but is also a fascinating glimpse into history. There are wonderful photographs from that year throughout which add a lot to the story. In fact the whole book is really well designed so I recommend reading it in paper format.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I honestly think I enjoyed the setting and the history more than the actual story about Spiritualists conning people and about Mary Shelley's ghostly abilities. I however really did enjoy Mary Shelley as a character and found the story to be very engaging. I would recommend as a good read to everyone; this book gives an excellent look at the year 1918, the Spanish influenza, and American culture during World War I...all in a story that is very engaging.
Amidst all this we meet sixteen year old Mary Shelley Black who has been sent from Portland to San Diego to live with her aunt after her father is arrested for anti-war sentiment.
Mary Shelley had a sweetheart, Stephen, but he went off to war. Stephen's brother has turned to spiritual photography in order to make a living. People are absolutely desperate to see their deceased loved ones, whether they died of influenza or war. Stephen's brother Julius is more than happy to take advantage of this.
Mary Shelley loves everything mechanical and definitely doesn't believe in ghosts. However after some horrible events ghostly things start happening around her that she can't explain. I really enjoyed Mary Shelley and her innovation and curiosity. She was an excellent character and very entertaining to read about.
This book is a wonderful look at the history of the year 1918. It looks into society at that time, medical beliefs, and spiritual beliefs. We get to see women starting to take their place as workers in society. We get to see the strange medical practices people thought would keep the flu away. It is a period of time where humanity is struggling to go on with life.
The whole story has this mystical paranormal element woven through as well which makes things even more intriguing. It's mostly a mystery but is also a fascinating glimpse into history. There are wonderful photographs from that year throughout which add a lot to the story. In fact the whole book is really well designed so I recommend reading it in paper format.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I honestly think I enjoyed the setting and the history more than the actual story about Spiritualists conning people and about Mary Shelley's ghostly abilities. I however really did enjoy Mary Shelley as a character and found the story to be very engaging. I would recommend as a good read to everyone; this book gives an excellent look at the year 1918, the Spanish influenza, and American culture during World War I...all in a story that is very engaging.
MY THOUGHTS
I was mainly interested in this book because I was curious about the spiritualism era and the time period, but I ended up enjoying this book much more than I expected.
This book takes place in 1918 and which the war and Spanish Influenza, death is very common and many people are turning to spirit photographers, desperate for comfort. Mary Shelley Black moves to San Diego with her aunt after her dad gets arrested for treason (letting boys escape the draft). At the same time, Stephen, Mary Shelley's first love and childhood friend was drafted into war. When Stephen dies and Mary has a new death experience, she becomes haunted by him. She then begins to question what really happened to Stephen and why is he haunting her.
What I like the best about this book is how real the setting is. I knew about the Spanish Influenza and World War I, but knowing about it is completely different than actually seeing it, which is how I felt while reading this book. The time period is so accurately presented. Now, I'm not a history major, but I absolutely feel like this is how 1918 might have been like in San Diego. It was a horrible period and filled with death, despair, and fear. The author portrayed all this so brilliantly that I can actually feel all of this while reading this book. I applaud the author for being able to write such a vivid setting!
I felt like this book was a mix of a bunch of different genres, if that makes any sense. This book felt so incredible realistic, due to both the settings and the characters, even with the paranormal elements. This book was also a mystery. A majority of the book is Mary trying to figure out why Stephen keeps talking about the blackbirds, and why he is haunting her. I, honestly, had a very hard time putting this book down.
While this book is so brilliant, it is also incredibly sad. That's obvious based on the setting, but the events in Mary's life, in the one's surrounding her are so horrible. Gosh, I can't really describe this without spoilers (view spoiler) The romantic in me wants this book to be so much happier and I almost have this book a 4/5 instead of 5/5, but this book would not be so vivid and brilliant without it. I also accept the fact that not everything is butterflies and rainbows.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I really loved this book. This book was incredibly dark and sad, but this book was also very brilliant and new. I thought that the setting was done very well and while the plot has been done before, believe me when I say that this book is not like any other. After reading this book, I am definitely going to pick up more from Cat Winters. In fact, I've already added The Cure for Dreaming to my to-read list. This is not a book (or author) to pass up!
I was mainly interested in this book because I was curious about the spiritualism era and the time period, but I ended up enjoying this book much more than I expected.
This book takes place in 1918 and which the war and Spanish Influenza, death is very common and many people are turning to spirit photographers, desperate for comfort. Mary Shelley Black moves to San Diego with her aunt after her dad gets arrested for treason (letting boys escape the draft). At the same time, Stephen, Mary Shelley's first love and childhood friend was drafted into war. When Stephen dies and Mary has a new death experience, she becomes haunted by him. She then begins to question what really happened to Stephen and why is he haunting her.
What I like the best about this book is how real the setting is. I knew about the Spanish Influenza and World War I, but knowing about it is completely different than actually seeing it, which is how I felt while reading this book. The time period is so accurately presented. Now, I'm not a history major, but I absolutely feel like this is how 1918 might have been like in San Diego. It was a horrible period and filled with death, despair, and fear. The author portrayed all this so brilliantly that I can actually feel all of this while reading this book. I applaud the author for being able to write such a vivid setting!
I felt like this book was a mix of a bunch of different genres, if that makes any sense. This book felt so incredible realistic, due to both the settings and the characters, even with the paranormal elements. This book was also a mystery. A majority of the book is Mary trying to figure out why Stephen keeps talking about the blackbirds, and why he is haunting her. I, honestly, had a very hard time putting this book down.
While this book is so brilliant, it is also incredibly sad. That's obvious based on the setting, but the events in Mary's life, in the one's surrounding her are so horrible. Gosh, I can't really describe this without spoilers (view spoiler) The romantic in me wants this book to be so much happier and I almost have this book a 4/5 instead of 5/5, but this book would not be so vivid and brilliant without it. I also accept the fact that not everything is butterflies and rainbows.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I really loved this book. This book was incredibly dark and sad, but this book was also very brilliant and new. I thought that the setting was done very well and while the plot has been done before, believe me when I say that this book is not like any other. After reading this book, I am definitely going to pick up more from Cat Winters. In fact, I've already added The Cure for Dreaming to my to-read list. This is not a book (or author) to pass up!
