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Summer's Shadow
Her mother's will states that Summer's legal guardian is her uncle a man Summer has never even heard of before. Forced to leave her life in London, Summer moves to Tristan's creepy, ancient house in Cornwall. There she is met with indifference from him, open hostility from her cousin, and an aunt who has chosen to leave rather than to tolerate her presence.Soon Summer comes to believe that the house may be haunted. But is it haunted by ghosts, or by the shadows of her family's past?Scared and lonely, Summer begins to spend more and more time in the beautiful sheltered cove she discovers nearby. But she's not alone. A local boy frequents it too. Can Summer find first love and the answers to the mysteries of her new home with this good-looking boy who appears to be too perfect to be true?
- GenresYoung Adult
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 3, 2014
3 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Anna Wilson
88 books29 followersAnna Wilson lives in Bradford on Avon with her husband, two children, two cats, some chickens, some ducks, a tortoise and a dog. She is the author of The Puppy Plan, Pup Idol, Puppy Power, Puppy Party, The Kitten Hunt, Kitten Wars,Kitten Catastrophe, Monkey Business, Monkey Madness, I'm a Chicken, Get Me Out of Here!, the Pooch Parlour series, The Great Kitten Cake Off and The Mortifying Life of Skye Green series - all for Macmillan Children's Books " " " "She has also written Summer's Shadow for older readers.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 30, 2014
2.5 stars
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley.)
Summer’s mother has just died, and now Summer must travel to live with an Uncle that she has never even met before.
Can Summer fit in with her new family? And are spooky things really happening in the large old house?
This story was just a bit too young for me I think, and I didn’t really enjoy it.
Summer was an okay character, although I expected her to be more upset about her mother than she was. I did feel sorry for her because of the way her new family was treating her though.
The storyline in this just wasn’t for me. It was too slow, and the whole thing just felt like it was aimed at 12-year-olds, or possibly even younger kids. I’d say that this is more suited to 8 to 12-year-olds really.
The boy that’s mentioned in the blurb didn’t even turn up until halfway through the book, and although things were resolved in the ending, it just couldn’t save this book for me.
Overall; aimed at younger kids,
5 out of 10.
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley.)
Summer’s mother has just died, and now Summer must travel to live with an Uncle that she has never even met before.
Can Summer fit in with her new family? And are spooky things really happening in the large old house?
This story was just a bit too young for me I think, and I didn’t really enjoy it.
Summer was an okay character, although I expected her to be more upset about her mother than she was. I did feel sorry for her because of the way her new family was treating her though.
The storyline in this just wasn’t for me. It was too slow, and the whole thing just felt like it was aimed at 12-year-olds, or possibly even younger kids. I’d say that this is more suited to 8 to 12-year-olds really.
The boy that’s mentioned in the blurb didn’t even turn up until halfway through the book, and although things were resolved in the ending, it just couldn’t save this book for me.
Overall; aimed at younger kids,
5 out of 10.
May 30, 2014
(I received a copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
Unfortunately, i didn't like this one.
I felt sorry for Summer... Having to go live with family you've never met would be awful.
I can't say i liked her though.
The other characters weren't that great either. I either didn't like them, or just found them to be alright.
The pacing was too slow for me, so i got bored really quickly.
It was also too young for me. I'd say it was aimed more at 10-12 year olds.
Overall, too slow and too young.
Unfortunately, i didn't like this one.
I felt sorry for Summer... Having to go live with family you've never met would be awful.
I can't say i liked her though.
The other characters weren't that great either. I either didn't like them, or just found them to be alright.
The pacing was too slow for me, so i got bored really quickly.
It was also too young for me. I'd say it was aimed more at 10-12 year olds.
Overall, too slow and too young.
July 27, 2024
İlk öncə axıcılığına,maraqlı formadakı mistik süjet inkişafına görə kitab mənə maraqlı gəldi,lakin demək olar ki,sonunu,o qəribə əhvalatları kitabın başından bəri təxmin etdiyin üçün finalı da düşündüyüm kimi oldu. Bəsit bir final, sadə lakin oxunaqlı dildə yazılan, yeri gəldikdə hisslərə yer verilən,lakin sən deuən o dərəcədə də duyğuları tapdaq edə bilməyən bir əsər idi. Yenə də maraqlı idi və boşuna zaman itkisi deyildi.
May 14, 2014
I received an advance copy from the publisher. It's been a while since I read a younger teen book and I wondered if I would find the content a bit light since I've been immersing myself in older-edgy books, but I was not disappointed. In the beginning of the book, Summer has just lost her mother and been made an orphan. With very little explanation, she has to move to Cornwall with people she's never met or even heard of. She arrives in an atmospheric stately home...
I liked Anna Wilson's writing and was immediately caught up in the story and was especially drawn into the location, which is beautifully described. I felt quite choked up a few times. The book is well paced and I liked Summer's character development. It's a haunting, romantic page-turner with an old-fashioned, Du Maurieresque feel.
I liked Anna Wilson's writing and was immediately caught up in the story and was especially drawn into the location, which is beautifully described. I felt quite choked up a few times. The book is well paced and I liked Summer's character development. It's a haunting, romantic page-turner with an old-fashioned, Du Maurieresque feel.
August 9, 2014
As a YA title Summer's Shadow by Anna Wilson is three and a half stars for me, but I realise it is probably teen fiction or written for the younger end of YA. We need titles for that cross over area between children's and YA. It's always exciting to find another book set in Cornwall, the land of my ancestors, and this one evokes the setting and atmosphere well. There is everything Cornish here: sea, coves, a creaky Cornish house, mystery, ghosts and beauty. Not to mention a few quirky characters. It didn't bother me that Summer was difficult since she is grieving. Grieving people can be difficult to get along with. The mystery kept the story moving, though as an adult I knew/suspected the outcome. YA are very discerning and would catch on too; I hope young teens mightn't. No surprises but I enjoyed the Cornishness and Summer's gentle relationship with Zach.
September 20, 2015
1. Why I decided to read this book.
When I first looked at this book, I loved the serene and pure feeling of the cover. The title 'summer's shadow' made me think about the weather 'summer' and that it would no longer exist since the word, 'shadow. Thus I chose it imagining how the story will be like but it was a totally different story with a interesting main character who is named summer.
2. An interesting character/setting in this book.
Summer, a main character, was sent to her relative's house after her mother's unfortunate death. She was a person of perseverance but living with her relatives wasn't comfortable because her cousin wasn't really nice to her at all. Summer was an interesting character for me since this book was full of pathos by her pitiable life. However, her endurance of this hard situation also interested and inspired me. I liked how this book contained a bit of horror or ghosty feeling with a setting of mystery. She starts finding mysterious truth about their relatives which made me excited to flick the pages. However the ending wasn't that good than I expected due to too much fictional and complicated plot.
3/4. My favorite quote & What I learnt from this book.
I learnt really deeply from this book that love can change the person's destiny or life. My favorite quote from this novel is by Summer saying ‘What about Zach though? What would happen if he came down and found her, floating?' since by this quote, the romantic, yet dismal condition was well put into the scene. This quote relates to what I learnt from this book. Summer actually tried to commit suicide because of her depression but she did not want to leave her love, Zach, alone with her dead body.
When I first looked at this book, I loved the serene and pure feeling of the cover. The title 'summer's shadow' made me think about the weather 'summer' and that it would no longer exist since the word, 'shadow. Thus I chose it imagining how the story will be like but it was a totally different story with a interesting main character who is named summer.
2. An interesting character/setting in this book.
Summer, a main character, was sent to her relative's house after her mother's unfortunate death. She was a person of perseverance but living with her relatives wasn't comfortable because her cousin wasn't really nice to her at all. Summer was an interesting character for me since this book was full of pathos by her pitiable life. However, her endurance of this hard situation also interested and inspired me. I liked how this book contained a bit of horror or ghosty feeling with a setting of mystery. She starts finding mysterious truth about their relatives which made me excited to flick the pages. However the ending wasn't that good than I expected due to too much fictional and complicated plot.
3/4. My favorite quote & What I learnt from this book.
I learnt really deeply from this book that love can change the person's destiny or life. My favorite quote from this novel is by Summer saying ‘What about Zach though? What would happen if he came down and found her, floating?' since by this quote, the romantic, yet dismal condition was well put into the scene. This quote relates to what I learnt from this book. Summer actually tried to commit suicide because of her depression but she did not want to leave her love, Zach, alone with her dead body.
November 10, 2014
Summer's mum has been killed in an accident and Summer has been sent to Cornwall to stay with her uncle Tristan, whom she has never met. Summer doesn't really feel welcomed by Uncle Tristan's son and she's never seen his wife, so who are these people and why does she get the feeling that there are strange goings on in the house?
I am an adult reader with young children, so I often read YA fiction in order to see if it is suitable for them to read. I must say I frequently approach these novels with a heavy heart, knowing that I will be thrown into a world of vampires and unrequited love (not that this does not have it's place, but it is becoming rather tired). I was happily impressed therefore, to read a novel where the characters are normal people getting up to things that normal families do and acting in a normal way, which is much more the kind of book I would like my children to read.
As other reviewers have stated, I think this book is suitable for younger teens. I see this as a real gap in the market; there are plenty of books for pre-teens and then we seem to jump straight to works of the vampire ilk detailed above with not much else in between. I know that my 11-year-old daughter, who has really enjoyed books such as the St Clare's books from Enid Blyton, will happily graduate to 'Summer's Shadow' without needing to grow up overnight.
Overall, I found this novel eminently suitable for its intended audience and will definitely recommend it to my daughter and her friends.
I am an adult reader with young children, so I often read YA fiction in order to see if it is suitable for them to read. I must say I frequently approach these novels with a heavy heart, knowing that I will be thrown into a world of vampires and unrequited love (not that this does not have it's place, but it is becoming rather tired). I was happily impressed therefore, to read a novel where the characters are normal people getting up to things that normal families do and acting in a normal way, which is much more the kind of book I would like my children to read.
As other reviewers have stated, I think this book is suitable for younger teens. I see this as a real gap in the market; there are plenty of books for pre-teens and then we seem to jump straight to works of the vampire ilk detailed above with not much else in between. I know that my 11-year-old daughter, who has really enjoyed books such as the St Clare's books from Enid Blyton, will happily graduate to 'Summer's Shadow' without needing to grow up overnight.
Overall, I found this novel eminently suitable for its intended audience and will definitely recommend it to my daughter and her friends.
July 10, 2014
Lovely idea for a novel with some potentially great twists, but they’re just too easy to predict.
I guessed the entire plot of Summer’s Shadow within the first few chapters, so I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel, unfortunately. I love the idea behind it, I adore the Cornwall mansion setting and the characters had the potential to be really interesting, but when you are 99% sure that you know what the secret that the entire story revolves around is, it’s simply frustrating to read.
That’s not helped by the slow moving plot, in which nothing much actually happens. I would have loved to see a bit more character development throughout the middle portion of the book, when things get rather dull and unexciting. I don’t feel like we really got to know Summer or Zach, and Tristan (Summer’s uncle) is a brilliantly intriguing character but none of my questions about him were answered.
It’s a real shame because Summer’s Shadow could have been a hauntingly beautiful read. I think this is the first YA book written by Anna Wilson, who usually writes books for younger readers, so I’ll be interested to see what she comes up with next nonetheless.
I guessed the entire plot of Summer’s Shadow within the first few chapters, so I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel, unfortunately. I love the idea behind it, I adore the Cornwall mansion setting and the characters had the potential to be really interesting, but when you are 99% sure that you know what the secret that the entire story revolves around is, it’s simply frustrating to read.
That’s not helped by the slow moving plot, in which nothing much actually happens. I would have loved to see a bit more character development throughout the middle portion of the book, when things get rather dull and unexciting. I don’t feel like we really got to know Summer or Zach, and Tristan (Summer’s uncle) is a brilliantly intriguing character but none of my questions about him were answered.
It’s a real shame because Summer’s Shadow could have been a hauntingly beautiful read. I think this is the first YA book written by Anna Wilson, who usually writes books for younger readers, so I’ll be interested to see what she comes up with next nonetheless.
December 29, 2016
I'm giving it a 4.7/5 stars because all of those twists and turns didn't catch me off guard. Meaning it was kind of predictable, for me at least. But that doesn't mean the book was bad. I really liked it, a perfect summer read I would say. I must say I really couldn't put it down, I was forced because I had to go somewhere lol. Definitely recommend it if you're looking for a light reading, a book that would just take your mind off things. I would definitely want to read more of Anna Wilson's book but more of a book with an adult character maybe, only because Summer, the main character in this book was 14 so it was more like a suitable book for a younger reader? Other than that, the story always kept me going, didn't bore me at all, even once. I would have definitely gave it a 5 star if I read it when I was 14 and also if the answers to all the mysteries have caught me off guard. Like I said, it was simple and predictable, more of a suitable read for a younger reader but still I would recommend it to anyone who wants to just have a short, quick read in their spare time.
July 14, 2014
A simple read, rather enjoyable and definitely connected to the setting, as I have visited Cornwall before. I felt the book mainly lagged (there was plenty of potential that I feel it did not reach, in terms of the plot, as the setting was beautifully laid out), and it did take a while to get into the book. Considering that Zach is highly mentioned in the blurb, it was surprising how little we got to know him. I found the character of Kenan intriguing, and even though the ending explained his actions, I wish we would get to see more of his story. The ending itself was quite predictable, but I still liked reading it. In summary, I felt that the book should have been longer to get to know the characters a little more (for example Becca, who we barely got to know), and a better ending,
August 15, 2014
When Summer’s mother dies, her will states that Summer would live with family she has never met before in Cornwall. Her Uncle Tristan seems anxious and doesn’t know how to deal with Summer. Her cousin Kenan goes out of his way to be mean and her aunt has moved out of the house.
As if losing her mother wasn’t bad enough, now Summer has to leave behind her home, friends and normal life. Nothing is the same in Cornwall. Her family behave so strangely and she can’t even get a signal on her mobile phone. But that’s not all. Summer is haunted by strange occurrences that started with a phone call at the exact minute her mother died. Now there is a white cat that appears to Summer alone.
Summer begins exploring the nearby beach she has discovered, and stumbles upon a secret cove. It is in the cove she meets local boy Zach, who seems to be the only person capable of pulling Summer out of her grief.
Summer’s Shadow was a good read, but perhaps at the younger end of the YA spectrum.
As if losing her mother wasn’t bad enough, now Summer has to leave behind her home, friends and normal life. Nothing is the same in Cornwall. Her family behave so strangely and she can’t even get a signal on her mobile phone. But that’s not all. Summer is haunted by strange occurrences that started with a phone call at the exact minute her mother died. Now there is a white cat that appears to Summer alone.
Summer begins exploring the nearby beach she has discovered, and stumbles upon a secret cove. It is in the cove she meets local boy Zach, who seems to be the only person capable of pulling Summer out of her grief.
Summer’s Shadow was a good read, but perhaps at the younger end of the YA spectrum.
June 10, 2014
This one was hard to rate - reading it now, it probably rates a 3 stars, but I reckon if I'd read it when I was 14 it would have got a solid 5 stars, so I've averaged it out. Wilson weaves a curious and intriguing tale full of suspense and beauty. Her Cornwall is a magical place, and she brings it alive with writing that seizes hold of your imagination and directs it with consumate skill. Everything is gloriously real, yet filled with magic and whimsy. Dark and brooding in places, shining bright in other, Summer's Shadow is a must for any teen with a love of reading.
August 28, 2016
I do read a lot of YA fiction however, found this one to be a very slow moving story, probably best suited for the early teens market rather than YA. The characters weren't that interesting and I really wasn't too interested in the outcome. On the whole a pleasant story for younger readers.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.
January 10, 2016
I read this because I am very familiar with the house where it's set. Certainly that place was brought to light and I smiled at the familiarity. The writing is very evocative. I wasn't expecting to be so moved by the story but I really was - it made me cry. A really good novel for younger teenagers.
April 8, 2015
More of a 3.5 stars. I had trouble getting into the book initially but it is worth persevering with. There is a bit of romance, a bit of intrigue and lots of secrets, long-lost relatives, and an orphan and it all ends up with an old mansion near the beach. Very modern Gothic.
April 6, 2015
A lovely book for teens and one which deals with major tensions within one family. It is set in Cornwall and the author's love of the county really shines through in her descriptions. Many thanks to the publisher for sending a copy to me.
May 27, 2016
I pre-read this in anticipation of reading it with one of the reading kids, and decided not to read it with her. Too... Old. My big question is: Is this magical realism? Having cats appear and 'tell' people what to do / be careful of? Magic I get. I'm not sure about this realism thing....
Did not finish
August 27, 2016I thought this book would be a good read, but after a few chapters I found myself getting bored. The character had no appeal to me.
March 1, 2017
Ok read
Guessed the twist very early and felt it wrapped up all a bit too neatly. Wanted the uncle to have more of a backbone
Guessed the twist very early and felt it wrapped up all a bit too neatly. Wanted the uncle to have more of a backbone
May 12, 2014
Review to follow
July 23, 2014
Review to follow...
July 2, 2018
i love this book its so touching
May 1, 2017
I loved this book!! Although it didn't have the ending I was hoping for.
Read
January 16, 2018I loved reading this book. It all connected up at the end. This book has lots of twists and turns which i loved.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews