2014 Hub Reading Challenge discussion

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

I absolutely loved this book! I found it to be spooky without being downright scary. I think that teens and adults alike will enjoy this read. It was great to see such a realistically strong female character in a historical fiction novel.

Loved it! Creepy seances, talking with the dead, waking up and the ghost of a sweetheart is in the bed right next to you! Oof! Talk about jumping out of bed! It's a great book - not overly scary or graphic like Scowler was, but can definitely give you the heebie jeebies! I have to agree with Mrs. Vogler about the strong female characters as well - excellent!

I really liked the idea behind this book and ultimately I did enjoy it, but certain characters really got on my nerves. Mary Shelley's aunt and Julius, for example, drove me nuts. The author kept me off balance throughout, not knowing for sure if something supernatural was really happening or not. I thought the setting was well developed and I felt like I learned more about the time period. Overall, it was a worthwhile read, but I'm not sure it will be an easy sell to teens.

As a native San Diegan. I really enjoyed the historical San Diego setting of this book. It was really exact, right down to specific, recognizable neighborhoods as they existed back in 1918. Very well done.

I too loved it. It kept me on the edge of my seat while I tried to figure out how Stephen died. Even when I thought I had it figured out there still was a twist at the end. Great job. I look forward to other reads by this author.

Loved this book! It is definitely one of my favorites from this reading challenge. The mix of historical fiction and mystery made it impossible to put down for me, and it was great to read up on it afterwards and see that it was historically accurate too. That's very important to me, and I think it is what made it such a vivid setting.
I also liked that I couldn't figure out everything right away (including that anagram!). As Bethany said, it could be hard to tell if things were supernatural or not.