WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW isn't going to be a book for everyone, but it was definitely a book that I would have devoured as a teenager and I subsequently devoured as an adult. It's unapologetic in its darkness, but there are threads of light and whimsy underneath the odd and the intense. The cast of characters are all vividly drawn and the way Porter uses whimsical nicknames to mask the darkness is inspired. It's delightfully weird and incredibly imaginative and it's a book I've spent a long time thinking about after I finished the last page.

I absolutely loved Vassa in the Night, even if it was seriously weird. This book, however, could not hold my attention. I felt like the narrative wandered all over the place and rambled a lot, which made it boring and very easy to put down. I can't deny that Porter makes the effort to always do something unique, which I appreciate in a book world full of tropes and cliches, but taking a risk doesn't always work out. Here, it was too weird for me. It wasn't even that the story itself was too weird, but the style made it hard to get into. I will continue to look out for Porter's books, but this one was a miss for me.

I am very conflicted with how I feel about this book. I very into it at the beginning, and I loved the ending, but the middle fell flat for me.
The beginning of this book to me was really good, Sarah's writing pulled me in immediately, and I was hanging on every word. I was really into the character (I loved how different Ruby and Everette were; Ruby saw only the good in her brother Dash, and was blinded to all the bad things he had done, while Everette saw, for the most part, the bad stuff that Dash had done). I was also really into where the plot was going, because I honestly had no idea, but as the story went on I just started to loose my interest.
I don't know if it was because I have been in a mood lately where I want to only read cutesy contemporary book or because I have not had a lot of time to read because I was working so much, but I just didn't find myself needing to get back into reading the book once I had gotten about a fourth of the way into it. I was starting to loose interest in some of the characters (Ruby especially, she was starting to annoy me a bit) and the plot was just going way to slow for me.
I finally sat down with the book when I only have about 25% left to finish and made myself get through it, and the ending ended up bringing back my interest that I had in the beginning. One thing that the last portion of the book had that the beginning didn't was Elena, and I WISH she would have had a bigger part in this book. I think that this book do a fantastic job on not having a focus on romance (and instead having a big focus on family) so I don't think including Elena in the beginning to be this big romance plot would have been good, but I ended up really liking her character a lot so I would have liked to see more of her. Also, she just seemed to have been thrown in halfway through the book as an afterthought which I didn't like.
Finally, the ending was just perfect. It was wroth pushing myself though the book when I wasn't feeling it just to read those last couple of pages. I'm not going to say anything more because I don't want to spoil anything, but just know it was worth it.

I was incredibly excited to delve into this book, as I had seen praise for Vassa in the Night but had yet to read anything by the author. Overall, I adored this book. It was thrilling, enigmatic, and very strange - in the best ways possible. I loved the writing style, which at times felt almost like stream of consciousness. So much of this book is built on creating an overwhelming feeling of paranoia, and maybe it’s just because I tend to be a paranoid person, but I thought it really accomplished that! The tension was practically palpable at all times. Some moments were genuinely scary, but I never thought they crossed the line into discomfort. The imagery was so vivid, and the tone heady. If nothing else, it was certainly unique.

The family dynamic presented felt new and refreshing. The Bohnackers were all incredibly manipulative, even bitter towards each other at times. As the story unfolded, it was easy to see why. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, but I don’t think I needed or was supposed to. The toxicity of both the environment and its characters was very purposeful. The protectiveness of Dashiell and Everett towards Ruby belittled her own strength, and definitely portrayed their tendency towards hyper-masculinity.

However, I was extremely put off by some unnecessary and distasteful choices. The Everett/Dashiell/Paige sex scene was really disturbing, and consent was questionable at best. The minor incest was also upsetting. Those two moments just didn’t contribute to the story or the reader’s understanding of the characters, and could have easily been rescinded. There were also a couple of distasteful comments on weight that I didn’t find meaning in. Really, though, those are the novel’s only pitfalls, but they’re important ones to bring up and warn about.

I enjoyed this book immensely. For fans of unique, strange paranormal tales, this is a must-read. I truly don’t think that it’s for everyone, however. Readers should be prepared to dive head-first into an incredibly strange, sometimes overwhelming and disturbing story. One that is, however, ultimately satisfying and a wonderful commentary on the power of sibling love.

There are some people that will really like this book. I liked it but I also didn't connect with it in the way that I was hoping to based on the previous book I read by this author. I will recommend it to some of my students but I won't say it was one of my favorite books. Good writing style interesting promise just not exactly what I was expecting.

I prepared myself to go into this with an open mind, because the synopsis sounded really intriguing but I knew I would either love it or hate it.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the story and it's concept, but the execution and some of the characters just made it a drag.

First of all, Ruby was just a horrible character. Her love for her older brother was understandable, but it was pretty much an obsession and borderline incest with how in love with him she was. For example, Dashiell gives her a slow kiss on the lips in her twin's body, and that was just too freaking creepy. There was nothing brotherly about that. Ruby also put her love for Dashiell above her twin, who was actually still alive. It left Everett feeling hurt and angry, and Ruby didn't really care. Even at the end of the book Ruby was still willing to have Dashiell inhabit her body in order to keep him in their world, even if it meant losing herself in the process. It was just infuriating how careless she was about herself. Even one of her friends made better choices when it came to the spirits.

Everett was the only really good character in the story. He fought so hard to protect Ruby, and yet he constantly got shit on by her and Dashiell. I felt bad for him for how he was treated. Dashiell was just a selfish person in life and in death, but at least in the end he redeemed himself.

The pacing was rather slow and when it came to information, there was way too much rambling throughout. I had to put this one down a few times because I was just SO bored because nothing important was happening except a lot of rambling. Nothing really exciting happened until about 90% through.

I will say that Sarah Porter did an amazing job creating this in between world that basically showed you your worst nightmares. It was very creepy whenever a scene or character would be there, especially Mabel and the dollhouse man.

When I Cast Your Shadow would have been much better with a faster pacing and less rambling, but fans of the creepy and supernatural might still enjoy it.