This book was darkly exciting! I couldn't put it down, and I really hope there's a sequel in the works, because I'm keen to see what happens next.

This is nice, scary, magical book about a girl named Emmeline, who has powers she doesn't fully understand. It has really great themes of trust, friendship, and choosing a path that feels right to you. I'm really happy this is the first one in a series because I think the kids are going to identify with Emmeline and want to read more about her!

Marcykate Connolly has begun a wonderful new series with Shadow Weaver, which tells the story of Emmeline, a child blessed with talent bestowed by a comet that passed overhead when she was born. Emmeline’s talent is, as the title suggests, the ability to control shadows. However, Emmeline’s parent consider her talent more of a curse than a blessing, and have kept her hidden away on their estate for years. Emmeline is an outcast in her own home, reviled and avoided by family and servants alike, with no friends other than her shadow, Dar. When Emmeline’s parents invite strangers into their home who claim they can cure her of her talent, Emmeline and Dar run. Emmeline is running from the very real danger posed by the strangers, emissaries of the much-feared Lady Aisling, while Dar is running for a very different reason. As Emmeline encounters others with talents and begins to understand that she is not alone, Dar becomes increasingly cantankerous and sly, urging Emmeline to help her escape the shadowland and become flesh once more.

Connolly has begun building a compelling but familiar world, where people with special talents are hunted by those who wish to use them to achieve power. It’s a familiar construct, but Connolly has done an excellent job of introducing readers to a new world populated by likable characters. There is potential here for this to grow into a well-loved series, with many possible storylines for Connolly to explore. Here, we meet a shadow weaver, a light bender, a wind whistler, and a shape shifter; and we hear about a fire breather and a magic eater. I look forward to seeing what other talents Connolly creates!

The story moves at a fast pace, with enough nail-biting action to keep even a reluctant reader engaged. Character development is good, with Emmeline receiving the most attention. We watch her grow from a sheltered, easily led child into a caring young woman who is becoming self-aware, loyal, and brave. I hope that Dar’s story is developed more in the next entry; I would love to read about how she and her sister fell out and Dar became a shadow. Overall, this is a winner and one I would recommend to readers in grade 6 and up. Well done!

Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars

Shadow Weaver is the first book in a new dark fantasy middle grade duology by MarcyKate Connolly. We follow a young girl named Emmeline who has the remarkable gift of shadow weaving, meaning she can call shadows to her and shape them how she desires. However, due to her gift being dark, it scares everyone around her, so her only friend is her shadow Dar.
But one day royals come to their home and find out she's a shadow weaver and tell her parents they want to take her away to "cure" her and her parents agree. Emmeline is scared by this decision and agrees to the resolution Dar has suggested, which ends up being so much worse for Emmeline. So her and Dar flee and go on a journey, but as they go, Dar is becoming less and less trustworthy.

This novel was phenomenal and beautifully written. The characters were three dimensional and very well formed, Emmeline was portrayed as such a strong girl and I loved her courage. The character development of Emmeline and Dar were incredible, the differences in the two "girls" from the beginning of the book to the end are just wonderful and were exceptionally done.
The plot was rich in magic and adventure and it was the constant "what's next??" that moved the plot along fairly quickly and just made you want to read more.

I can't wait for the next and final book in this beautiful duology! !

This is a deceptive book. And I mean that in such a good way. The language is relatively simple and straightforward, and yet the emotions and underlying themes are anything but. The ongoing themes of trust, honesty and betrayal are handled with a graceful hand, always instructing but never preaching. I just loved the way this book was written and hope there will be more to follow!

Emmeline is a gifted child, bestowed with talents by a Comet that comes by every twenty-five years. Her specific talent is to exercise control and weave shadows. Lonely, spare her shadow Dar, whom only Emmeline can hear speak, she is forced into exile when it appears she will be imprisoned by those who seek to control her talents. On her own, she finds others like her, but can she trust them?

I want to thank NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Shadow Weaver is a daring and exciting tale about Emmeline who is struggling to find her place in a world where her special talent is feared. Think, 1930’s Germany. Emmeline possess this unique ability to weave shadows. Imagine being able weave tangible things out of shadows, like rope and even animals!

What makes Shadow Weaver stand out amongst the rest in this genre is Dar, Emmeline’s shadow. I won’t spoil anything, but MacyKate Connolly uses Dar to illustrate the importance of strong and trusting relationships, and that it’s always vital to listen to your inner voice when something doesn’t feel right. Connolly even touches on the fact that a child with parents can still be an orphan if they are unloved. Emmeline is brave and unfailing kind, even when raised in an environment where loved was withheld.

Shadow Weaver will give you a thrilling ride as Emmeline learns what true friendship is as she runs from those who wish to capture her and her talent. Connolly takes imagination to new heights.

I couldn't say enough about this book if I tried, An amazing adventure and the characters were glorious!

I received this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, (read in on one sitting) and can not wait for the next one. This book was written in a way that gave us the full foundation of the world and magic. It did not leave me with many questions as to how things work or who each character was. BUT it left me wanting for more.

I did get annoyed with the task Dar had Emmeline on because it went on far too long but I understand the purpose of it.

I would recommend this book.

Emmeline is my (and my two young daughters') hero! A beautiful and sad/sweet story all at the same time, we loved it from the start as I read it aloud to my girls. They even started talking to the shadows on the wall in hopes they could weave also. Wonderful story! Bravo!

This is a deliciously dark children's fantasy novel.

Emmeline is a shadow weaver who can communicate with her shadow, Dar, and conjure shadows into tangible shapes. Over time Emmeline realises that her gift marks her as different, and feared. It is only once she is forced to flee her home that she begins to grow in awareness and consider what she values, for example integrity and loyalty.

There are some nicely-drawn characters in the book and a real sense of horror too. This story reminds me of Frances Hardinge's wonderful writing so I am delighted that this novel is the first of a series - I look forward to reading all of MarcyKate Connolly's Emmeline books.

Oh.. I can not wait for the next book in this series! Very unique story about a little girl named Emmeline, who was born with the power to weave shadows. Her only friend is her shadow Dar, which turns out to be an inside out/upside down friendship if you know what I mean. A lot of mysterious things happen and Emmeline is not really sure if Dar is telling the truth and things start to get dangerous. Ancient magic, shape shifting, a scary ghost-like girl and running for your life. That is all I am going to say about the story because I do not want to spoil it. I can not wait to read more. I recommend it everyone.

Shadow Weaver is an atmospheric, haunting story that immediately ensnares the reader. This may be written for a middle grade audience, but it begs for adult readership as well. MarcyKate Connolly weaves a tale that keeps you trapped in her world until the very end.

Emmeline is a child that's easy to like and want to protect. Also, like most children she's also easy to manipulate and scare. Throughout the story I continually wanted to step into the pages and mother her. To whisper in her ear the truths that she needed to hear. To watch her story unfold, knowing that she had to discover things for herself, was almost painful. But her Shadow Weaver journey was exquisitely told.

Shadow Weaver is a book that will draw me back to it for more than one read. And when the second book comes out (for this is part one of a duology), I'll be reading it as well. Emmeline and Lucas could be extremely powerful together and seeing these two kids take on the evil introduced in this first book will be well worth the wait. 

One of the other things I liked about Shadow Weaver (not that there was anything I didn't like) was the resolution with Dar. I'm not going to say what it was, but the author handled it very nicely. She could have went a few typical routes but she didn't. And while I'm almost positive the solution will come back and bite them in the butt, I'm still happy things ended the way they did. 

Well-written, with believable dialogue, nicely paced action, and fantasy kept on a level easy for middle-grade readers to understand, Shadow Weaver is an exquisite example of how to write darker fantasy for kids. MarcyKate Connolly did a phenomenal job, and I will be shocked if Shadow Weaver doesn't make it onto the best seller lists for middle grade fiction. I loved it!

I think this is a fantastic start to this middle grade series. I really enjoyed reading about emmeline , and the powers hat she has. I'm for sure up for reading he next book. There were times were the book did get a little creepy, but it worked for the book!

Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly is a fantasy kids book that is absolutely thrilling. Emmeline can control her shadows and she has a companion, her own shadow, Dar. She talks to Dar and Dar talks to her. Dar plays tricks on people which gets Emmeline in trouble and shunned. People are afraid of Emmeline. Then some people want to take Emmeline away, she and Dar run away...I can't spoil it but there is more to her life then she knew, and she just made it worst for everyone on her trip. Very exciting, mysterious, a little suspense-filled in spots, and great fantasy. Great imagination at work! Thanks NetGalley for letting me read this awesome book.

This was an interesting book. The language is deceptively simple, but the emotions and ever present themes of trust and lies are surprisingly complex. The main character arc is handled particularly well.

Emmeline is a talented child, blessed by the Cerelia Comet that comes by every twenty-five years. Her talent is to control and weave shadows. She has no friends aside from her shadow Dar, whom only Emmeline can hear speak. She loves her talent, and embraces it to her detriment. Many of her “games” are harmful, causing painful accidents and worse. Her parents worry, but the book tends to interpret their feelings towards Emmeline and her talent as embarrassed. Especially when an incident puts an important visitor into an unresponsive state, and Emmeline is blamed.

She runs away from home to save herself from an admittedly severe and scary punishment, leaving her alone in the world and more dependant on Dar than ever. Dar asks her to perform a ritual to make Dar the shadow into a flesh and blood person. But when Emmeline meets another talented child, a light singer named Lucas, and his family, she craves their acceptance. Dar insists that they’re hiding something and shouldn’t be trusted, but some of the things she’s asked Emmeline to do in the name of preparing the ritual don’t feel right to Emmeline...

The tone of the beginning is dark and quirky, and although that changes with good reason as the story goes on, it was still one of my favourite things about the book. Because Emmeline’s ill use of her power and dependence on Dar has made her isolate herself, she is seen as odd and suspicious by others. Being privy to her thoughts and feelings keeps the reading from sharing that opinion. And yet, her justifications and the way she responds to things that happen do make her look odd. It’s a great starting place for her character arc.

I loved the way that Emmeline blossomed around Lucas and his family. For the most part, it was all just positive, and the coolest thing was that she recognised how knowing someone else with magic mattered to her immediately. It wasn’t some slow realisation that sneaked up on her. There was some awkward comparison drawn between his parents and hers that oversimplified the strain between her and her parents while conveniently putting all of the blame on them. But it wasn’t made into such a big deal that I felt like it needed to be addressed. It could easily have been a little girl mentally shifting blame from herself because self-awareness is uncomfortable and hard.

The twist at the end is excellent. Even though I saw it coming from a long way off, that felt intentional. Knowing that it would happen didn’t mean I guessed all of the details and it did mean that I looked forward to it with apprehension. It’s an amazing depiction of a toxic relationship and the fallout thereof.

Although the story world isn’t insanely elaborate, it’s big enough for the characters to breathe and inhabit. It’s consistent, and receives exactly as much exposition as it needs. No time wasted. I’m excited to see where the series goes in the future.

I have been so excited to read this book for ages now. I adored the other books by MarcyKate, and couldn't wait to read more books by her. So happy to have been able to read an eARC of this book early. It's so stunning. I wish I could say that I loved this book like I wanted to, but oh, I sadly had some issues too.

There are parts of this book that I loved a lot. Found the story pretty incredible. But because of some issues that I had with some things, I couldn't fully love it all. Which makes me a little sad, because I really did want to love it like crazy. Aw. But I did enjoy it a lot, and I am super excited that there will be a sequel.

I did find this book to be an easy one to finish, as I felt like it was super short, but there was a lot happening. And I did not really want the book to end, because I did grow to care for the characters. Shadow Weaver tells the story of twelve year old Emmeline. She has had magic ever since she was born. She's able to control shadows. Which was all kinds of awesome. And I loved reading about what she could do. Emmeline is able to talk to her own shadow, as it's almost a person. Which was so complicated and a bit creepy, to be honest. Because of the things that Emmeline can do, people and her parents are afraid of her. So she does not have any real friends, or good people in her life. Which was so sad. Aw. As Emmeline is pretty adorable.

This book tells the story of how she runs away from her home, after her parents are planning on sending her away, to cure her of her magic. And Emmeline does not want this at all. So she runs into the forest. But she's not the best planner, and she has lived a pretty sheltered life, so it doesn't go all that well. Her shadow, Dar, is always with her, and she has just shared with Emmeline that it is possible to make her human. Which they are working on doing. And oh, I wish Emmeline had been a bit more careful and wary.

There are a lot of interesting things happening in this book. The reason for why Emmeline had to escape was pretty exciting to get to know more about. There are some bad people around, looking for children, looking to take their magic. There aren't that many people in this world that have magic, as they got it in a special way. Which I liked a lot. But I wish there had been more about the world, as there really wasn't much described, and I wanted to know more. But still, I liked reading about where this book took place.

I really enjoyed reading about Emmeline. Though at times she could be a lot of stupid, and not seeing things that were obvious, about her shadow. And I didn't like how she lied a lot. Aw. But she was still an awesome girl to read about. Though I did feel that she felt a lot younger than twelve years old. Hmm. But then again, she had been really sheltered. And she was adorable. Anyway. I liked the plot a lot, learning about shadows and magic and more stuff like that. Just wishing that the book had been longer, though.

The reason for why I had issues with this book was mostly the writing, sadly. I had so many issues getting through it. Aw. I found it to be a little bit weird, and hard to read most of the time. Especially with the way Emmeline was thinking all the time. She kept repeating herself the whole book too, and that was super annoying. Grew tired of reading the same small parts again and again. I also just had issues connecting with the writing, as I had more issues with it. Just, aw. I'm pretty sad about it. But I didn't dislike the story.

Because the plot in this book is pretty good and I enjoyed it at all times. I loved the magic that Emmeline has. I loved reading about her playing with the shadows, and I wanted more of that so badly. I loved it so when she met Lucas, and started spending time with him. Their growing friendship was awesome to read about; just wishing there had been more details about it. And oh, Lucas was pretty incredible, and I truly adored reading about him. And his magic too. Eee. It was beyond stunning and so so interesting as well.

Even though I didn't love it, you really should give this book a try. Shadow Weaver is a stunning middle grade book with an incredible lead girl and such an exciting magic story. Huge thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks, for letting me read this book early via Netgalley. Means the very most to me. I shall now be hunting for a print ARC too, eee. Which are so gorgeous. I'm thrilled that I got to read this book early. I'm just sad that I couldn't love it like I wanted to. Aw. But I still liked it a lot, and I am really happy about that.