Rating: 
Summary: Graceful and Intelligent
Review: "Shadow Baby" is a great recommendation. It is graceful and intelligent. If you enjoyed "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere," "The Dogs of Babel," and "My Fractured Life" you should love this book.
Rating:
Summary: AN EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER...
Review: Alison McGhee's narrator, eleven year-old Clara winter (Clara insists on spelling her surname without a capital) is one of the most memorable characters you're liable to run across. She is precocious, wise beyond her years, full of compassion and understanding for her fellow human beings, enamored of words and stories, and with a mind, heart and soul open to the possibilities she finds in the world around her. The author gives her a refreshingly unique voice and personality -- and very naturally and gently allows us to share her thought processes. It's an incredible experience -- and one that I know I will not soon forget.Clara is haunted by the knowledge that she was born as one of a pair of twins -- her baby sister died shortly after birth. Tamar, her fiercely independent single mother, is unflinchingly tight-lipped about Clara's dead sister, her biological father, and her grandfather (Tamar's dad). One night, waiting for her mother at choir practice in a local church, Clara, watching the snowy woods from a window, spots a shodow moving about in the trees, seemingly holding fire in its hands. The shadow turns out to be retired metalworker Georg Kominsky, hanging lanterns in the trees to guide a group of cross-country skiers. Clara decides then and there that she is going to get to know the old man -- she makes him the subject of an oral history assignment for school, goes to visit him, and one of the most amazing friendships begins. Clara and Georg hit it off instantly -- although you certainly couldn't call Georg talkative. Clara has to practically exract any response from him with a pair of tongs. She begins to understand as much from his silences as from his words -- she views herself as an apprentice to a master. He teaches her to look at the world with an open, discerning eye, to see the harmony of usefulness and beauty existing in tandem, to see the consistency in things. She, in turn, comes as a bright star into his dark life, lighting it up like one of the pioneer lanters he is so skilled at making. Like Georg's lanterns, McGhee's writing is absolutely luminous in its beauty -- she works with an economy of words that is breathtaking in the substance it conveys. Rather than explaining things to the point of taking the wonder out of them, she allows her writing to illuminate them for us. It's a joy to be there with Clara when she sees something in a new way for the first time. Clara and Georg both benefit tremendously from their friendship -- they each have much to teach the other. The old man guides her gently through the process of dealing with the mysteries and difficulties in her life -- and she gives him something valuable as well: a listener, an observer and a student. This book unashamedly and openly shows us how very much we stand to gain by honor and respect between the generations. There is a quote on the book jacket from Judith Guest -- in part, she says 'Alison McGhee, with her seductive, almost hypnotic prose, has created a heroine that one simply must love'. A very apt description of the magic at work here. I didn't quite read this book in one setting, but it's certainly that compelling and rewarding -- I didn't want it to be over, but the author knew when to allow Clara to continue walking her path unwatched by the readers. I found this book completely by chance (if there truly is such a thing). I was looking for a book by another author at the library -- this one was on a shelf at eye-level, at the end of the row, with the cover visible. It caught my eye, I picked it up -- and I was absolutely delighted with it. I can't wait to read RAINLIGHT, Alison McGhee's earlier novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Melodramatic and Unrealistic!
Review: Every time I turned another page of this book, I encountered several cheesy one-liners! I even started highlighting them to count. There were at least two per PAGE. Talk about overkill on the supposed drama. The most objectionable part about this novel for me, however, was the author's complete disregard for how 11-year-olds REALLY think and speak. Even an extremely perceptive and intelligent child wouldn't be capable of the insight that this girl has; she is simply too young for most of these complicated philosophies about life. Example, you ask? Sure! "When I first spoke to the old man, I told him that my last name was winter, which I always keep in small letters in my mind, so it doesn't gain in importance. Winter is something that should be lowercase, in my opinion. Winter is to be feared. Winter is to be endured. That's what I believe to be true." You can almost see the author's desperation to include these deep, dramatic insights! It ends up coming off like a cheesy Lifetime TV movie. I'm sorry I picked this book up. I think I'm going to re-read David Sedaris' and Wally Lambs' books so I can rebuild my faith in modern writers.
Rating:
Summary: Melodramatic and Unrealistic!
Review: Every time I turned another page of this book, I encountered several cheesy one-liners! I even started highlighting them to count. There were at least two per PAGE. Talk about overkill on the supposed drama. The most objectionable part about this novel for me, however, was the author's complete disregard for how 11-year-olds REALLY think and speak. Even an extremely perceptive and intelligent child wouldn't be capable of the insight that this girl has; she is simply too young for most of these complicated philosophies about life. Example, you ask? Sure! "When I first spoke to the old man, I told him that my last name was winter, which I always keep in small letters in my mind, so it doesn't gain in importance. Winter is something that should be lowercase, in my opinion. Winter is to be feared. Winter is to be endured. That's what I believe to be true." You can almost see the author's desperation to include these deep, dramatic insights! It ends up coming off like a cheesy Lifetime TV movie. I'm sorry I picked this book up. I think I'm going to re-read David Sedaris' and Wally Lambs' books so I can rebuild my faith in modern writers.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful achievement
Review: Family sagas dealing with loss or some horrible accident are nothing new. Pat Conroy wrote about them in his "Prince of Tides" and so did McCrae in "Bark of the Dogwood." So it should come as no surprise that Alison McGhee tackles the same territory in "Shadow Baby." But what makes this novel different from others that deal with the finding of the self, is McGhee extraordinary ability to let us into the minds of her characters--to let us see what makes them tick. This, coupled with the excellent writing, make "Shadow Baby" a sure bet if your looking for a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: I really couldn't buy into it
Review: First the pro's: The imagery in the book is letter-perfect. The reader gets a full sensory blast. The supporting characters (Crystal, her special-ed nephew, etc.) are clear and functional, without intruding on the story. The development of the mother, Tamar, works well also. At first I found her cold, cold, cold! But, she comes into her own by the end.
The Big Con: Clara winter [sic] herself. She is way too precocious for me. Had the author made it clear that this was an adult looking back after many years, that might have helped. However, from my reading I inferred that Clara was relating these incidents within a year or so (age 12/13).
Much is made of her outstanding vocabulary. Okay - she's a voracious reader; frankly, I thought she belonged in a gifted/talented/honors program. Her socialization, on the other hand, is a mess. Her mother remarks several times on how "wierd" Clara is. Yet, she seems unconcerned; if it were my kid, I would have taken a more active role before then.
This character reminded me of a non-fiction author I ran across a while back. That writer made a point of mentioning how she "devoured" Jane Austen, etc. in grade school! Well, sure, a very bright kid might get the words in themselves, but no kid "gets" human relationships enough at that age. That was the case here. Clara w's musings, opinings, etc. are too adult - the "voice" of the character didn't ring true for me. On a related note, she repeats herself a lot! I listened to the audio, but would have likely skimmed parts with a print version.
Overall: The author is a very, very talented writer. Had she made it an older Clara looking back (and toned down a bit on the musings here and there), I could easily have given this five stars and a header of "Excellent job!"
Rating:
Summary: The Shadow Novel
Review: First time reading this story, I only thought Clara as a normal child,well, except a little odd, with loads of imaginations. As I continued to read this book, I found out that she is a special eleven years old girl, who has her own thought and her own shadowy past. On the way to met with the old man, Georg, she has learned to become more mature dealing with her feelings, has learned the possibility of art, and has found out her own past of the death of her baby sister and her missing father. You will find the story unfolds itself beautifully and meticulously through all of the enigmas as the story continus on. At the end, tragidy had exploded as if it was waiting until an appropriate time to come. This is a well written story and one of the you-must-read book in a year.
Rating:
Summary: Technically exquisite
Review: I echo the praises of the two previous reviewers and would like to add that McGhee's mastery of her technique is great, making the novel - aside from, or in addition to its story - a joy to read. The characterization of the story's three main characters is sharp, colorful, rich and (this isn't always easy) consistent. The imagery is precisely and imaginatively chosen to reinforce both the characterizations and the book's themes. The story moves fluidly backward and forward in time, in and out the protagonist's consciousness and from event to event all so seamlessly that the reader is carried along without ever feeling manipulated or ever stumbling over the technical devices necessary in story telling. The one clunky note - one I saw coming from pages away - was a literary (or personality development) cliché. It was where Clara makes her symbolic break with her past - with her girlhood - so that she could move forward, grow and mature into her young womanhood. The break was necessary, both to Clara and the story, it's just that we've seen it before. But this was an excellent book - don't let my last comment turn you away or you'll miss a good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Not blown away
Review: I enjoyed this book but really didn't get the point of it.
Clara winter knows she's a twin but her mother refuses to tell her about the baby, her father or grandfather. What she doesn't know, she makes up. She's so against the idea of condensing a book into a book report that she makes up books. She's a wordsmith, and if you're not careful, you might read her to be a bit of a know-it-all.
She makes friends with a stranger who doesn't come clean about too much of his past either.
I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of the book. It is conversationally written and a quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing Story
Review: I found Shadow Baby to be a very engrossing story. Right from the very beginning, the "voice" of the little girl pulled me in. I wanted to know what happened to her baby sister, what happened to her father, grandfather...what would become of her friendship with "the old man".
We find Clara winter, our narrator, a very unique 11 year old. Her thoughts and actions are really more that of a 18 year old. However for me, I didn't mind, I just accepted this and read on. Clara is a girl who is questioning life. She wants to know what happened to her twin sister who died at birth, what the real story was. She tries to get her mother to give her answers on that & other subjects, most of the time to no avail. So she develops a friendship with an older neighbor and this seems to give her a bit of an outlet and she begins making up stories about her families life, and his life.
This book is unique in that it takes you on a journey, and you're not sure where this is leading a lot of the time. You want answers, the answers Clara is seeking, and you wonder if you'll ever get them. Or if you'll ever find out why Clara is the way she is. Over-all I enjoyed the "journey", I'm still left with a few questions...but this is definitely a book I won't forget any time soon!
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