Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

Shadowed Summer was a nice surprise. I’m not a huge fan of horror stories, but I decided to give this one a try and I’m glad I did.

Iris lives in a small town in Louisiana. She hangs out at the cemetery with her best friend, Collette, and they pretend to be psychics. Until a day when Iris actually hears someone who isn’t really there—and it scares the hell out of her. Soon she believes the ghost who is talking to her is Elijah Landry, a boy who disappeared years ago.

Elijah is the big mystery of Ondine. He disappeared from his bedroom one night–and was never seen again. While his mom claims he was a saint, some people believe he just ran away. Iris, though, is now sure that he is dead and won’t leave her alone until she finds out the truth about him.

One of the aspects that I liked the most about this book is the fact that I could hear the characters’ accent through the dialogues. You can totally feel the little town vibe of this story, and some of the scenes are as creepy as a horror book should be. Iris is determined yet scared, and she won’t take a no as an answer. She’s a strong character, she’s so focused on finding out what happened to Elijah that she forgets to keep her eyes open to what’s going on around her.

Even though this is a ghost story, I feel like the Mitchell made it believable with well built characters and narrative.

Author: Saundra Mitchell
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre(s): Fiction, Horror, Ghosts
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication date: June 8, 2010
Pages: 183
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