Shadow Girl

by Sally Nicholls

Clare knows she’s at least partly to blame for her problems at school, but she’s learned that it hurts to make friends when you're a foster kid and you’ll be moved on again.

It’s a relief to meet Maddy, who knows what it’s like to be in the system. But then Maddy disappears. Clare has opened her heart at last, and she can't let it go – will she find her friend?

A heartwarming story about friendship with a supernatural twist.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories

67 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2014

About the author

Sally Nicholls is a prize-winning British children's author. She was born and grew up in Stockton-on-Tees. On finishing school, Nicholls chose to travel around the world. Her first novel was Ways to Live Forever.

Reviews

[Clay]

Short, dyslexia-friendly, (nicely) Twilight-Zone-ish tale by the author of the excellent Ways To Live Forever. 14YO unhappy foster child adjusts with the help of an unusual friend.

[Kirsikka71]

Likeable characters, supernatural twist.

[Anushka Shinde]

It was not challenging at all. It jumped from one idea to another in many areas and was very confusing.

[Fran]

This is a great little story. The writing is current and modern, but at the same time it's also the timeless and true voice of 14 year old girls all through history. I could certainly recognise the feelings that Clare was having as ones I'd had at that age. Very well done.

I got what was going on straight away (not the exact specifics of how, but certainly the what), but in no way did that lessen the ending for me, or diminish my appreciation of the fact that it is cleverly done. However, I'm not the target audience for this book, so it may well be that someone who is the target audience would be like 'woah' at the end of this.

Very good; heartily recommended! Bonus points for a wonderful cover; I love the shiny red!

[Joudi Mufti]

Despite that I didn't like this story so much , but I like  when  Clare said  :
" I'd learned   one  thing,  after all those moves .
I'd learned  that  it was  a bad idea to like being  somewhere  .
It was a bad idea  to start caring  about someone  , Because  I always  had to go  . And when I went , It broke my heart  ".

[Jenna]

A very short book and while not awful, it is predictable with very little character building. The ending could be guessed from the start so there was very little shock factor. Overall, ok but not worth a second read.

[Camilla Chester]

Read this super quick as it is really short and very easy to read. Gobbled it up. Great story, very cleverly written.

More like a short-story really.

Once I'd read it I gave it to my 11 year old who devoured it too and my nine year old listened to me read it out. Nice library find!

[Jonathan Currinn]

Interesting concept, but totally not my sort of thing. We follow a girl called Clare who isn't happy with her life and she's totally down until one day she comes across Maddy who brings a bit of enjoyment to life, and she's finally found a friend... Only something isn't right when Maddy is upset and then she disappears for good.

This was just missing so much! What could've been a very important story in this world that could bring up the topic of mental health for many people, this just lacks so much because it isn't fleshed out enough. It feels as if the author was given a deadline to submit this book for, and left it to last minute. So many inconsistencies, and at times can be difficult to follow. There's a clear disconnect with the reader which doesn't make good reading either. Regardless, the concept is what pulls this story through and the ending sure is interesting - I wasn't expecting that.

[L]

This is a short hi-lo book. I only read it because of a complaint. Overall it is decent time slip story involving a girl in foster care. Scarred by having to move frequently she tries to avoid making friends/connections until she meets a strange girl who seems to understand her.
The complaint was because at the start the main character wishes she had anorexia so she could avoid lunch. It is almost a throw away line and in the context of the story kind of understandable. There is no further mention of anorexia.

[Leah McDonald]

This book is just so heart warming and shows you never to give up in tough situations. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends and other readers. I really enjoyed this book and how it shows how tough it can be to be in foster care.

[Tim]

I read this in Swedish to improve my language comprehension. For that it was a book at my level, but the story was difficult to care about and the 'twist' at the end was pretty cringe-worthy.

[Karen Taylor]

My students and I loved reading this. We began reading more booms about orphans and sisters as a way to deeper explore the theme these young ladies enjoyed.

[Allison]

This was lovely even though it was predictable. It didn't get too hung up on the whys and hows. As the description says, it's heartwarming.

[Kiera]

Reminded me of a book i did in English at school called Stone Cold. Would recommend for a quick read. Gripping

[Liv Odzimek]

This book was so interesting spoiler alert I didn't think lyn was maddy or maddy was lyn from future and past j was flabbergasted lmao but it is an awesome book

[Vicki Edmunds]

Read in an AR lesson with y7. Know I’m not the target audience but felt it was a good read for struggling students with engaging story and pace and good for a quick read…

[Varsha Seshan]

https://www.varshaseshan.com/catching...