About.com Rating

Amanda Sun's novel Ink is somewhere in my list of top books I've read so far this year (read my review), so this novella prequel to the Paper Gods series was a must-have for me. (And the gorgeous cover certainly helps!)

Publication Information

• Full Title: "Shadow"
• Series: Paper Gods (#0.5)
• Author: Amanda Sun
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen
• Publication Date: June 2013
• ISBN: 9781459235823 (ebook), B00BED2UIW (Kindle ASIN)

Leaving Home

Katie Greene's mother has just died, and she learns she's going to have to leave everything she knows to live with her aunt -- a woman she hardly knows -- in a country she's never been to. Katie isn't against going to Japan, but she's not so sure she wants to live there, to learn the language, to leave behind everything familiar. On the other side of the world Yuu Tomohiro has terrible nightmares that are tied into strange and frightening powers he was born with, and which might drive him mad. He gets by by keeping people away and by refusing to draw, even though drawing is the one thing he loves most.

The writing in "Shadow" is beautiful, the characters are well-drawn (forgive the pun), and the hints of myth and folklore are delicious. This novella is definitely an indication of what you'll get if you go on to read the novel. Some readers, though, might be dissatisfied with the way this story doesn't really have a conclusion without the novel that follows. For me, I thought the characters' choices were enough of an ending, but others might be unhappy that the two characters whose viewpoints alternate throughout never really make a connection (except for one tenuous event).

But "Shadow" is a lovely story, and even though it leads into the novel instead of wrapping up completely on its own, it's very much worth reading -- if you're planning to read the novel, or if you're wondering if you're going to like Ink. If you've already read Ink, you won't miss anything vital by skipping "Shadow", but if you want to know the story behind a few of the events in the novel, or you just want more of Amanda Sun's lush writing, you won't want to miss it.