The Shadow Society
By Marie Rutkoski
Published on October 16th 2012
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: Borrowed
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: Borrowed
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.
Man this book was not what I hoped it would be. I heard lots of fantastic things about this book and I loved The Winner's Curse. Alas, this book and I were just never meant to be. I can't really decide if The Shadow Society is a paranormal or science fiction- it seems to be a combination of the two. I think the main problem I had with this book is Darcy. I get that she is shy and quiet, but I never really get to like her, mainly because I never see much of her personality. She likes art, she is quiet (but not too quiet)- it isn't enough for me to go on to care. That is the main problem I have with Conn too... the author did such a good job making me dislike him, that I never regained any liking.
I almost put The Shadow Society down a few times. I kept hoping that the book would miraculously turn around for me but it never did. It wasn't a horrible book, just meh. I don't have big feelings about it other than being disappointed. The shining star in this book were Darcy's friends, and they were not in 80% of the book (which was incredibly sad considering how much I enjoyed them). This was a pass for me. Thankfully though, I enjoy the author's other books so I will keep on reading her stories.
