Wow, what a debut! I was really impressed. If I had to classify it, I would go with YA family-drama mystery-thriller with a touch of magical realism. But mostly, the story's core is about intergenerational trauma and healing.

I enjoyed the entire plot, the characters and their individual relationships with one another, from the Cureton sisters' authentic sibling love-hate to their unique relationships with their parents. I also love that Isaiah (the dad) is a historian in this book -- we get to learn accurate historical facts about hoodoo magic during slavery and its ties to modern-day African American spiritualism.

Additionally, I found Casey and Sutton’s experience of being biracial in America candid and powerful. The commentary on the experience of colorism is well-woven into the narrative without overpowering the plot. How the police responded to Black girls going missing, seeming to care at the barest minimum only after Sutton’s disappearance went viral/got airtime, is a sad, dark reflection of our society.

However, I was left wanting the end chapters to be fleshed out more for this book to reach its full potential. It felt abrupt and rushed. Furthermore, I wasn’t sold on the “villain’s” motivations to make them believably three-dimensional. Maybe some extra backstory here.

All in all, I definitely recommend this book. It’s a quick, easy read with some excellent thrills. Congrats to Lily Meade on a superb debut (plus to the artist for the stunning cover art).

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read this work, which will be published on the 27th of June 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Wow, this book really shocked me! In a good way of course. Seriously, what a great debut novel. There are so many things I enjoyed about this story. But I don't want to give away to many details. I think it's best to go in blindly on this one.

Casey and Sutton are two sisters with a fractured relationship. Sutton goes missing, and her family is falling apart trying to find her. When she is finally found safely she isn't who she used to be. Casey is confused and believes her sister is faking it all. Their fractured relationship is tested and we get glimpses of the past. Will both sisters be able to repair their sister bond?

I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I started it and passed to read something else. But once I returned I couldn't put it down. The story kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the truth just like our MC, Casey. There are a lot of reasons I loved this book! But again, I think it's best to go in blindly. 4 stars out of 5! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As much as Casey loathes her manipulative older sister Sutton, the pain her family experiences after Sutton vanishes still tears her apart. Then Sutton reappears, unharmed apart from amnesia. Casey is sure it is all some ruse to torment her. Since neither their parents nor the police seem inclined to investigate either Sutton or the other missing Black girls in their town, it is up to Casey to uncover the truth. Meade spends so long poignantly illuminating the sisters' fractured relationship and intergenerational trauma that the resolution to the mystery comes out of left field.

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

336 Pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 23, 2023

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Coming of Age, Teen, Young Adult

Casey and Sutton are biracial sister. They are close in age but miles apart emotionally. When Sutton goes missing, Casey and her parents are devastated. A week goes by without any word. A call in the night brings Sutton home but she is a shadow of herself. Casey believes she is faking it.

The book has a fast pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. I loved the love/hate or rather hate/hate relationship between the sisters. It is probably closer to the truth than many happily ever after stories. If you like mysteries with family dynamics, you will enjoy this book.

The Shadow Sister is an excellent debut from author Lily Meade. It follows Casey and her sister Sutton who goes missing only to reappear days later with no memory and a whole new personality. As Casey and Sutton try to unravel what happened, relationships are tested and secrets exposed. What will it take to discover the truth?

Overall, I think this is a very strong debut. The characters were very well developed, even the side characters and we could understand their feelings and motives clearly. The different points of view were cleverly written and I enjoyed the flashbacks from Sutton’s perspective. The plot was intriguing and there were a few twists I didn’t anticipate. I also really enjoyed the connections the sisters had to their ancestors and I enjoyed the exploration of their genealogy.

The plot was somewhat slow for the first half of the book but the ending was fast paced and rushed. There were too many loose ends left open and I would have liked to have seen a more resolved ending. I think the subplots needed more exploration and just fleshing out in general. I would have happily read another 100/200 pages in order for these to be fully delved into.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and I think it is a strong debut for Meade. I will definitely be checking out their books in the future.

This is the story of family, trauma, and the bonds of sisterhood. The Cureton family is an average family: mother, father, two teenage daughters, and a dog, with typical sibling rivalry that other families experience. They’re a successful family until the unthinkable happens: the older sister, Sutton, disappears, shattering the family. When Sutton is miraculously found alive, she has no memory of what happened to her. She also doesn’t remember her family, except for her sister Casey. As the family struggles to come to terms with this new version of Sutton, the truth eventually emerges, and it’s more frightening than anyone could imagine.

Lily Meade’s debut novel for teens is a homerun. It reminds people of how strong the bonds of ancestry and family can be and examines the different ways Sutton’s family handles trauma. It also briefly touches on the indifference of police when people of color go missing. The slow reveal of what happened to Sutton and how and why she returns will have readers thinking back to other parts of the novel and cursing themselves for not figuring it out sooner, as there are clues sprinkled throughout.

Meade’s novel, told mostly from the point of view of Casey with a few chapters devoted to Sutton prior to her going missing, blends suspense, mystery and even a little magic throughout its pages and is highly recommended for teens and adults alike. It may even spark conversations about familial ancestors and the importance of researching ancestry to discover what secrets are buried underneath the surface.

Wow, I adored this exploration of complex, tense sisterhood, which is a narrative I feel we rarely see. The nuanced characters pair nicely with the twisty plot, and the way the author wove in historical details and genealogy was fascinating and so unique.

I could not put this book down. Meade weaves a compelling tale of the competition and love between sisters and the struggle of carrying generational trauma in this supernatural mystery. Casey and Sutton, bi-racial teens in a small town in Washington, vie for the coveted bracelet from their late grandmother, each believing their grandmother wanted them to have the bracelet. In the context of series of missing Black girls, which authorities ignore, when Sutton goes missing, the Cureton family and the community must face questions of how race and gender plays into how we place value on members in families and communities, and how a new generation can challenge injustices.

I received an early ebook copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book on two fronts. One it gives an honest and complicated look at familial relationships and the bonds, both broken and healed, between sisters. Meade does a fantastic job at writing fleshed out and realistic sisters. The anger is as real as the love and it's all woven together within a greater mystery that unfurls at a satisfying pace.

As Sutton's memories are locked behind her trauma, we get to see the impact of legacy and history as it affects the family.

This book is masterfully crafted and the twists and turns are well-done. The ending was powerful and tied all the loose strings together. I can't recommend this book enough! I can't wait for it to get published!

Love the suspense and the way they tackled the important issues of missing black girls and the complex relationship between sisters. A must read.

The Shadow Sister is a captivating debut novel by Lily Meade that combines mystery, family drama, and a touch of the supernatural. The story follows two sisters, Casey and Sutton, who have never had the best relationship. Everything shift after Sutton goes missing, and after being found the only person she can remember is Casey.

The writing in this book is exceptional, especially for a debut novel. The story is highly entertaining and hard to put down, making it easy to get lost in the pages. Meade does an excellent job of creating realistic and relatable characters, particularly the sisters' relationship with each other. Their initial dislike of each other feels authentic, and as the story unfolds, their bond grows stronger.

Even though I feel like we need more information about it to make it feel more integrated with the rest of the story, the supernatural subplot adds a layer of mystery and intrigue. The way the supernatural elements are woven into the story is subtle but effective, keeping the reader engaged and guessing until the end.

The book's ending feels somewhat rushed, and a couple more chapters or an epilogue would have tied up the loose ends better.

Overall, The Shadow Sister is a highly enjoyable read and an impressive debut novel from Lily Meade. Despite its minor flaws, the book is a great choice for anyone looking for a well-written, engaging, and mysterious story. I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Honestly ordered this for the library mostly because of the beautiful cover but really enjoyed the story.

I didn't want this book to end. I picked it up and had to stop reading for whatever reason and I kept thinking about the characters and the plot and what would happen next. I was so engrossed in this story from start to finish but I could have used more chapters. That's my only complaint. I'll definitely be recommending this to friends.

First off, this cover! Talk about what I would consider a cover worthy buy if I saw it on the bookstore shelf. Immediately drawn to the book just from that. Then reading the synopsis had me even more intrigued. I thought this was an atmospheric read that I had a great time with.

Applause for such an amazing debut YA novel! I enjoyed the intense character building of the sisters, and the suspense of what happened to Sutton. As an only child I'm enthralled with learning about different sibling dynamics. I wish other characters had a little bit more "grey area" than what seemed to be either just "good" or "bad". Then ending left me wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in return for an honest review.

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I read this book in a handful of hours and really enjoyed it! (~3.75-4*)

The story follows Casey and her sister Sutton, who has been missing for a week as the book starts. A few chapters in, she returns but is not quite the same as she was before she went missing. We follow Casey's POV as she tries to figure out what happened, with the odd chapter from Sutton's POV from different periods of time.

This book was really hard to put down (a lot of the chapters ended on a cliffhanger!) and whilst I did have a good time, I do wish that it was a bit longer as I felt it ended quite abruptly after some major revelations. I also think it would have benefitted from some additional fleshing out, specifically around the main antagonist and their motivations and the magical component so that the big twists weren't so confusing/random.

This was a very quick and easy read that sucks you in at the get go, and also touches on some important topics like race and sibling/family relationships.

Casey hates her sister Sutton most days, so when she goes missing, Casey is incredibly conflicted. Even though they don't get along, Casey hates to see what her sister disappearing does to her parents. When Sutton appears with no memory of her past, except that Casey is her sister, Casey is suspicious. Is amnesia a ruse for more attention? A ploy to trick her parents? Casey does not trust it and is determined to find out just where Sutton went, and what happened to her when she disappeared.

Sister's hating each other in books is not new, but this author does it well. Both Sutton and Casey come across as imperfect people, without being overboard. The strain on their relationship is well thought-out and explored. Usually, I would side with one character, but I found both of them to be super compelling! We also get a little backstory into how the feud came about and how much it rocked their relationship. Every relationship has growing pains; seeing them overcome and bond was lovely.

There is a magical realism element in this book which was done beautifully. We also explored Casey's family history as slaves, and how hard they had to work to get to where they are now. The ancestry aspect is incredibly moving.

Unfortunately, those are the only parts I liked. Everything else is underdeveloped and half-fleshed out. The most disappointing aspect for me was the mystery. Overall, it only plays a part in the very beginning and end. It is barely mentioned or used in the middle, which is odd. If your daughter comes home with amnesia, whatever happened to them must have been incredibly traumatic. I expected the parents to be more determined in figuring out what happened to her, but instead, they are just complacent. The other girls that went missing are barely mentioned or explored. The villain is so cartoony it is laughable, and the motive did not even make sense, which is incredibly frustrating. If the author had just made it about the family healing from trauma, I would have probably given this four, maybe five stars.

Outside of Casey and Sutton, no other character is fleshed out. Some key characters too, like the boyfriend, parents, and the villain! Everyone is also presented as either good or bad, with no room in the middle. Lily Meade created such dynamic main characters, yet all the secondary characters fade into the background and have no impact on the story.

Overall, a solid YA debut. I am excited to see what else the author writes!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

(Review is on Barnes and Noble's website under the user Berriesandbooks )

Fantastic title to hand sell to YA readers and adults. It addresses themes of race in a way that is natural to the characters and the plot. It is above all a story of the familial bonds of sisterhood and the tension that can arise between siblings. There is love amidst the hurt that family can cause. While there isn't sexual assault, there are missing black girls and there is mention of death and a dead body that is found.

This book is about two sisters (Sutton and Casey)that do not get along. From each point of view, they other is ruining their life. That is until Sutton disappears, then later returns acting unusually out of character. Casey works on trying to find out what happened to Sutton to make her act the way that she is. Sutton’s case leads to answers of what happened to two other missing girls and to where to find Casey’s missing friend, Ruth.

This is a YA thriller that will have you locked in, trying to figure out what happened to Sutton and who was responsible.

Lily Meade's debut novel The Shadow Sister is a compelling YA thriller that had me invested early on in the story. It was both written and paced well. The characters were well-developed and definitely relatable. At the heart of the story is the relationship between sisters, Sutton and Casey. To say their relationship was tumultuous would be an understatement, but they truly loved each other even in neither wanted to admit it. I found the plot to be captivating and I couldn't get enough. Lily Meade is definitely on my radar and I cannot wait to read her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.