The Shadow Girl
by
Misty Mount
A haunting, emotionally powerful novel that explores adolescent invisibility, family dysfunction, and the quiet desperation of feeling unnoticed in your own life.
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Thirteen-year-old Zylia Moss isn't just overlooked; she’s invisible to family, forgotten by teachers, and unseen by classmates.
When Zylia suddenly begins slipping between worlds, she finds herself in the In Between—a colorless realm that feeds on the isolated and forgotten. There she meets her great-aunt Angelica, who vanished without a trace decades earlier. Trapped forever, Angelica warns her: make your mark on the world or disappear completely.
With help from her friend Terra—the only person who truly sees her—and an unexpected connection with her longtime crush, Zylia races to anchor herself to reality. But how do you matter when you've spent a lifetime being invisible?
A haunting exploration of adolescent loneliness and the desperate need to be seen, The Shadow Girl speaks to anyone who has ever felt invisible in their own life.
PRAISE FOR THE SHADOW GIRL
What an extraordinary page-turner!
This unique coming-of-age story is about a young teen named Zylia. Zylia is a very special person. She’s talented, empathetic, sweet and possesses a unique insight into the human condition. The problem is, she doesn’t know this about herself. In fact, if you asked her she would probably come up with a huge list if things she is NOT. As a result, she is fading away more and more every day. The only things keeping her ‘visible’ is her new and only friend, and a mystery involving a relative who simply vanished without a trace. The Shadow Girl is beautifully written, evocative, and wholly original. I was so impressed with the author’s depiction of mental illness. Her fantastical approach was refreshing and illuminating. Can you imagine feeling so small, so inconsequential that you find yourself literally disappearing? I get shivers just thinking about it. I loved everything about this book! The writing, rich characterizations, and Zylia! I adored her. She is wise beyond her years which in addition to so many other things, makes this story appealing to readers of all ages.
Honestly, I can’t recommend it enough! Rating… A+
—Reads & Reels, link to review
Spellbinding. Haunting. Eye-opening. Unforgettable. Brilliant.
This novel follows thirteen-year-old Zylia, a shy and lonely girl who is searching for her purpose in life. Zylia has a large family with loving parents, yet often feels alone and ignored amidst the chaos of life at home with her five siblings. At school, she feels as if she is constantly in the way and often invisible. There were times I questioned if the plot was real or fantasy which is usually a turn-off for me. However, the supernatural elements were presented in such a gradual and soft manner that it flowed beautifully and kept me curious and mesmerized from start to finish. The characters in this novel got to my heart! They were real, relatable and deeply affecting. I enjoyed exploring the family dynamic between Zylia, her siblings, her parents, grandmother and classmates. Each character brought a new layer of intrigue and development to the plot. The atmosphere is thick, vivid and engrossing which truly enhances the evocative storyline. Many scenes had me reminiscing about my high school years in comparison to Zylia’s. The themes introduced in this story are deeply contemplative and thought-provoking.
Zylia is a truly unique main character who I adored, was fully invested in and loved rooting for. She will remain on my mind long after I have finished writing this review.
--Witch Words, link to review
Young adults will find The Shadow Girl a powerful fantasy that combines a coming of age theme with insights into changing family relationships
Thirteen-year-old Zylia feels nearly invisible in her life. She blends into the background, is shy, and has always known that she's nearly invisible, even before real invisibility began to overcome her. The surreal spills into reality as Zylia's initial feeling of being 'unnoticed' seven years earlier begins to translate to true invisibility.
Zylia has always had mixed feelings about her condition, both relishing anonymity and chafing against its increasing power ("... the very curse that plagued me was also my protection."). Only one thing can keep her in the world: investigating an old family mystery surrounding a great-aunt's disappearance long ago. If she can uncover the truth, perhaps she can prevent the same thing from happening to her.
As Zylia explores the circumstances surrounding her great-aunt's vanishing, she gains clues from an old journal, makes some unexpected friends, draws some surprising connections between her familiar world and other dimensions, and slowly begins to learn the truth about her relative's fate and her own future. With her very survival linked to her ability to move beyond her familiar world, Zylia faces the 'in-between' and her possible role as a Shadow Girl who is brave and visible: everything that she is not, in the world she's always moved through.
Young adults will find The Shadow Girl a powerful fantasy that combines a coming of age theme with insights into changing family relationships, the impact of past worlds on present lives, and a shy girl's unexpected changes. Zylia's character is nicely drawn and realistic, her dilemmas are compelling and vivid, and her strange adventure becomes the start of building a new persona and purpose in her life. Teens who enjoy compelling plots and a protagonist whose dilemmas weave into bigger issues of character and life purpose will find The Shadow Girl an involving read, filled with astute observations and surprises right up to the end. The Shadow Girl is especially recommended for readers who enjoy fantasies that incorporate real-world elements of change and growth.
--Midwest Book Review
About Misty
Misty writes when she isn’t busy reading. She splits her time between the US and the UK.