Shadow Baby (Today Show Book Club #14)

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Author(s):

Alison McGhee

Label: Picador
Publisher(s):

Picador

Studio: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $11.20
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Eleven-year-old Clara is struggling to find the truth about her missing father and grandfather and her dead twin sister, but her mother refuses to talk. When Clara begins interviewing Georg Kominsky--her elderly neighbor--she finds that he is equally reticent about his own concealed history. Precocious and imaginative, Clara invents versions of Mr. Kominsky?s past, just as she invents lives for the people missing from her own shadowy history. Her journey of discovery is at the heart of this beautiful story about unlikely friendship and communion, about discovering what matters most in life, and about the search to find the missing pieces of ourselves.

Customer Reviews

Shadow Baby

I was very disappointed in this book I would not recommend it. It was OK, but the excitemnt just wasn't there.

Strange book

I am not sure how to rate this book. It was very bizzare. I did like the references to the Utica area. This made it a little more interesting for me. This book comes from a perspective of a young teenage girl and at times is a little hard to follow. Although it was weird, it was a good read.

Beautifully written--provoked me to both laughter and tears

This book captivated me almost immediately and I devoured it in one sitting. I found the author's development of Clara's quirky personality to be realistic and amusing, as she reminded me greatly of myself at that age--a voracious reader, imaginative storyteller, perceptive thinker, and lover-of-language.

I loved how Clara's imagination ran away with her to the point of her being unable to recall what was truth and what she had fabricated or embellished. While my childhood imaginations were usually confined to my daydreams, the pages of my "story notebook", and play with my sister and friends, Clara's stories spilled over into her daily interactions with adults. I can empathize with her need for every difficult, sad, or confusing situation in life to have a plot, a climax, a conclusion, and maybe a moral or a reason. Children's books usually end nicely, or at least decisively, and Clara longed for that kind of clarity for her own life. In many ways, Clara seemed to live in and through her books much more than she lived in the real world. I often felt isolated from my peers when I was Clara's age and spent the majority of my free time reading, writing stories, or seeking the company and fascinating reminisces of the adults around me. My classmates teased me because of my vocabulary and asked "What do you do, read the dictionary for fun?" I proudly affirmed this fact. I think Clara would be a great friend for me if either of us could cross into the other's world.

One of my favorite books this year

SHADOW BABY by Alison McGhee
December 31, 2007

Rating **** (4 Stars)

A wonderful story from the viewpoint of an eleven-year-old girl, SHADOW BABY tells the tale of a friendship between Clara winter (small W intentional) and the elderly Georg Kominsky (without an "E"). The two become friends after Clara chooses to use him as her subject in an essay she has to write for school. But after the assignment is over, she continues to see him, with regular meetings starting with Clara being dropped off by her mother. Clara spends time with Georg while he creates beautiful artwork out of metal.

The story telling is the key to this book. The reader will notice a little at a time that Clara's truth and reality are not the same as the rest of the world's. It is clear that Clara's gift is that of a storyteller and writer. Part of what makes her tick is her need to understand what happened on the day she was born, a very cold and blustery night when something tragic happened, and while this event is hardly ever mentioned by her mother, Clara focuses on it every day to her mother's frustration. Clara soon makes up stories about this event, and the reader will not be sure what is real and what is the imaginings of this very creative young girl.

Readers will love the focal point, Clara's special friendship with Georg. Through her eyes we learn about his past, and again we aren't even sure at first what is real and what is made up. For me, SHADOW BABY was a very enjoyable story about a young girl who has a lot of questions about her humble beginnings, and will not rest until she gets some answers. At the same time, Clara grows up and matures under the tutelage of Georg Kominsky. The two share a very special friendship, one that we know will be treasured by Clara for the rest of her days.

Disappointing

I am stubborn, and read on, always hoping a book will get better. Often, they do. This one just plodded on.

I like quirky books, quirky characters...I did not like this book.
The characters, especially the main character, was just annoying.

This was the first and most likely last time I will purchase a Today show book club book. I will take is as a warning to keep away!

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