Week 52 Review: Shadow Girl

From Goodreads:
The Memory Key author Liana Liu delivers a thrilling story of one girl struggling to claim her own identity while becoming an unwitting participant in the strange fate of a wealthy dynasty.

The house on Arrow Island is full of mystery.

Yet, when Mei arrives, she can't help feeling relieved. She's happy to spend the summer in an actual mansion tutoring a rich man's daughter if it means a break from her normal life—her needy mother, her delinquent brother, their tiny apartment in the city. And Ella Morison seems like an easy charge, sweet and well behaved.

What she doesn't know is that something is very wrong in the Morison household.

Though Mei tries to focus on her duties, she becomes increasingly distracted by the family's problems and her own complicated feelings for Ella's brother, Henry. But most disturbing of all are the unexplained noises she hears at night—the howling and thumping and cries.

Mei is a sensible girl. She isn't superstitious; she doesn't believe in ghosts. Yet she can't shake her fear that there is danger lurking in the shadows of this beautiful house, a darkness that could destroy the family inside and out...and Mei along with them.

My Review:
Oh man, I had a really great time reading this book! I loved her first book, but this one went in wildly different direction, so I was a bit cautious about it. I loved Mei, and watching her navigate the complexities of being a tutor for this family on a small island.

The synopsis is a bit misleading. There's a bit of potential paranormal events that happened, but not a lot, and they were able to be mundanely explained away. And it wasn't really the focus, which was on the Morison family.

There is of course Ella, her charge, who was shy and so adorable. Then there's her brother, Henry, who caused some mixed feelings for Mei. Their mother, who seemed to think that Mei could take on other tasks besides tutoring, which was so annoying! The grandfather, who And all the other family members and their dramas.

I really enjoyed watching Mei's journey in this book. She's polite, but within, she's pretty judgemental, but the Morison family is hot mess. But her relationship with Ella was fantastic, she was supportive, and I really enjoyed reading about the pair of them! 

This was a really great book, and I'm a little sad, because it's now the end of 2022, and there doesn't seem to be more books by Liana Liu out there. At least the two that we got were really great! 

Author: Liana Liu
Read: December 30th, 2022
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love her writing, and it's a SAC 2022 Book and a Sophomore Challenge Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: December 19th 2017

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars