Shadow Attack

by Karen Carr

Twelve-year-old Emison prefers reason over impulse, but when her mom turns into a shadow and vanishes through their apartment wall, Emison’s well-ordered reality changes. She embarks upon a journey into a mysterious shadow world, where she encounters an evil gang of color scientists called the Chromatics.

Emison must navigate the strange new world and her own insecurities to rescue her mom from the evil gang. Emison’s plan unravels when she changes into a flat-black shadow, and descends into the pitch-black land of darkness. To succeed in her quest, she must trust her friends and follow her instincts, which have always been wrong.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2011

About the author

I discovered at a young age that I liked to write. It was mostly because of my father, who wrote so much that he could not leave his study without an avalanche of papers following him. In fact, the only piece of furniture in the study was an old leather sofa. The rest of the room was full of books and bookshelves. It was on this sofa that I spent many hours honing my craft, even after he was gone.

Reviews

[Alice Yeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a remarkably original work of middle grade fiction, Carr introduces us to the so-called "shadow world", one in which colors are duller, blacker, and eerily luminous, save for those made of one arbitrary substance: plastic. As a twisted version of our own reality, this alternate dimension, if you will, is one whose residents were never intended to cross over into the Chroma (color) world. Unfortunately, Emison's mother did.

This book is one that truly caters to its intended audience, remembering that pre-teens' interests and attention span are not those of adults. It begins by throwing us straight into the action, introducing us to Emison while drawing us immediately into the dilemma of rescuing a mother who has returned whence she came. Like many stories designed for a younger set of readers, adults play a supportive role, while children drive the plot forward. Their behaviors and thought patterns are authentic, and the personalities distinctive enough that I can believe Missy, Adam, and Emi to be actual kids, rather than caricatures of what an adult believes one to be.

Chromatics Attack successfully maintains an adventurous atmosphere throughout. It is a heady mixture of curiosity and urgency, childlike wonder warring against a more grown-up sense of responsibility. The result is a lighthearted, entertaining read that is just complex enough to stay interesting but straightforward enough to avoid overwhelming younger readers. It's a difficult balance, but Carr found it.

My only true criticism of this novel is the typographical errors that grew more plentiful as the book wore on. A missing "s" originally made me believe that Adam was adopted from China, which became confusing when his hair was light while Missy's was dark. Then there were a few instances of you're/your, and a sentence or two where an entire word seemed to be missing. These mistakes don't detract too much from the wonderful story, but they are still bothersome.

Chromatics Attack is a fun read that parents can feel comfortable having in their children's hands. The lack of a print copy could limit access, but as the prevalence of e-readers grows, this will hopefully become a moot point.

Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews
(Review copy provided by the author)

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am amazed at how well thought out the worlds for this book are. I really thought I had pretty much read it all and nothing would surprise me, but Karen Carr has managed to grab me by the hair and say "hey, lookit, something new!". I absolutely loved the whole premise behind this book. LOVED it. It's totally bizarre and fun but has enough of a serious tone to it that I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen with Emison and her group of friends next.

The writing it very well done. There were just a few times that I got lost in the character's dialogue, but it was overall a great book. I didn't catch a single grammar or spelling error, it is a very cleanly edited book

While this book is geared towards the 4th to 9th graders, I, as a 30-something mom of 2 really enjoyed the plot and subplots that were rolling around in this quick read. I think I'll pass it along to my 3rd grader as this is the type of book she would enjoy as well.

I recommend this for book for all ages, it's written for the middle schoolers, but so many of us are coming out of the closet and admitting we enjoy some good young adult fiction that it's safe to confess it now.