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Shadow Club #2

The Shadow Club Rising

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The Shadow Club doesn't exist anymore.  The group of second-best kids used to play anonymous practical jokes on their rivals, until things spiraled out of control. Now Jared and the ex-Shadow Club members are having a hard time shaking their reputation. And when the new golden boy at school is the victim of a series of nasty pranks, everyone's convinced Jared is to blame.  Determined to prove his innocence, Jared soon becomes wrapped up in a nightmare worse than anything the Shadow Club ever caused.

200 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 18, 2002

30 people are currently reading
845 people want to read

About the author

Neal Shusterman

90 books29.9k followers
Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.

In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.

As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.

Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.

Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”

Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.

Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.

Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."

And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.

Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!

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5 stars
260 (29%)
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320 (36%)
3 stars
227 (26%)
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55 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
Profile Image for Suyash  Gupta.
18 reviews24 followers
June 7, 2016
Brilliant! Couldn't stop reading until the end.

I liked it even better than the first book.Even though this book was not as thought provoking as the first one, the intense mystery more than compensated for it. While reading it, I felt so many emotions surging inside me, and by the end my eyes were wet, not because it had a sad ending but because I felt so uplifted from inside.This short duology by Shusterman is immensely satisfying. A must read series!
Profile Image for Josiah.
3,486 reviews157 followers
October 17, 2024
On the shortlist of all-time YA authors, Neal Shusterman deserves mention, if not inclusion near the top of that list with names such as Robert Louis Stevenson, John Steinbeck, William Golding, and Robert Cormier. The Shadow Club, published in 1988 by a young Shusterman, is one of the best books I’ve read, a furnace of action and emotion with nary a misstep on its march to literary glory. Could he keep the magic going almost fifteen years later with a sequel, The Shadow Club Rising? Fallout from the shocking behavior of the Shadow Club continues months after ninth-grader Jared Mercer and his friends dissolved the club. They have no appetite anymore to strike out at the guys and girls who always seemed to relegate them to second-best status, but those harmed by the club's vicious "pranks", including school track star Austin Pace, won't let anyone forget.

"Sometimes people see you the way they want to see you...no matter how hard you try to change it. It's like they'd rather twist the whole world just so they can keep seeing you the same lousy way."

—Tyson, The Shadow Club Rising, P. 18

"Nobody sees themselves as 'the bad guy.' Even the nastiest, most evil people are heroes in their own minds."

The Shadow Club Rising, P. 29

Enter Alec Smartz, a new kid talented in apparently every academic subject and sport under the sun. He oozes confidence, and quickly moves in on Jared's former girlfriend Cheryl Gannett. Jared tries to swallow his anger at Alec, knowing what happened last time resentment seized control. But nasty memories surface as someone starts playing public pranks on Alec, ones that elevate right away from childish to dangerous. Jared is the obvious suspect, and Alec's friends assume he has reverted to his Shadow Club ways. Mr. Greene, the guidance counselor, lets Jared know he's a rotten apple who needs to be cored. Jared feels sick every day at school, wondering if today a line will be crossed with Alec that gets Jared expelled or criminally charged.

"But anger and hatred and resentment—those feelings are as slippery as a greased pig: hard to handle, and even harder to catch when they get loose. Feelings like that don't die easily—they just move on to other people if they can't have their way with you."

The Shadow Club Rising, P. 4

Not everyone despises Jared; Tyson McGaw, the Shadow Club's final target in the first book, is being fostered by Jared's parents and grudgingly accepts Jared as something like a brother. Tyson is trying to turn his life around; he's even dating Jodi Lattimore. Yet most kids aren't feeling charitable toward Jared as Cheryl announces her run for class president and, to everyone's surprise, Alec accepts a nomination to oppose her, throwing their budding romance into question. Will the anonymous tricks on Alec stop now, or worsen? Jared isn't the one hurting Alec, and he doubts any former Shadow Club member would go down that road again...but who is the perpetrator? Some version of the Shadow Club has risen from the ashes, and Jared is the fall guy. Will the past detonate his future?

"(P)eople see you the way they want to see you...and sometimes they manage to turn you into the very thing they want to see."

The Shadow Club Rising, P. 29

It's rare I say this about a Neal Shusterman novel, but I'm disappointed by The Shadow Club Rising. I expected the roller coaster ride the author almost always provides, whipping around tight turns and into unexpected dark places, but the narrative was at times hard to follow. It doesn't offer much that's new, just a rehash of the angst from The Shadow Club but without the same visceral effect on the reader. I wept during that book's finale, but had no real emotional connection this time. I might be persuaded to rate The Shadow Club Rising two and a half stars, but it's no Shusterman classic like Unwind, Bruiser, Everfound, or Dry. I guess even for the best authors, the magic doesn't work every time.
Profile Image for Kit Cave.
125 reviews3 followers
November 3, 2021
Still good, just too similar to the first one.
Profile Image for Jo Besser.
651 reviews4 followers
December 1, 2021
Normally I stay away from YA books. This one wasn't half bad, I was pretty interested in finishing it since the first book was so good.

Some of it was a bit predictable, but I'm also an adult reading a book for younger kids. Though, I was surprised at how dark the book got. It surprised me, but it sort of made me like it even more.
Profile Image for Victoria.
13 reviews24 followers
November 13, 2015
The Shadow Club Rising follows the events of the first book after the disbandment of Jared's club. In fact, I think I liked the sequel more because of the greater intensity of the mystery. That, though, doesn't change the fact that both are amazing and I greatly enjoyed reading them.

Before starting the sequel I wondered what was going to happen after the Shadow Club got dissolved. Would it be as interesting as the first? I thought it would all be over when the club gets disbanded but obviously that was not the case.

The story introduces a new character, Alec Smartz. He is the type that most people admire - good at whatever he does without putting much effort into it. However, being too popular is a double-edged sword. And so Alec gains not only fans, but enemies as well. That's when the pranks begin all over again, focused only on Alec and making his life miserable. The pranks are much worse than what The Shadow Club was capable of pulling out, even endangering the Alec's life.

Of course, the one who gets all the blame is the main character, Jared. Alec himself keeps accusing him and Jared is constantly framed for everything unfortunate that happens to him. I was quite impressed with Jared's actions because he never backed down, even when he knew he was beaten.

"Maybe I did all of those things to Alec," I told Greene, "But you'll never prove it...because I'm too smart for you." Then I stood up, and strutted out of his office without looking back. If this was a witch trial, then I was not going to drown with a whimper. I would float in defiance. I would be the witch.


I felt kind of sorry for Tyson because again Jared falsely accused him of things he hadn't done, similar to what he did in the first book. This time, however, he didn't get beaten for which I was extremely grateful. I did like how the two of them grew closer and closer throughout the story and at the end Tyson even perceived Jared as a brotherly figure.

This duology was a welcome change after getting disappointed with other contemporary books that I have read. Too bad this is the last book of the series.

Profile Image for Mart.
219 reviews57 followers
February 5, 2014
Пет звезди никога не са много щом става дума за Нийл Шустерман. ( ノ^ω^)ノ゚
Естествено (или може би не), тази книга ми хареса повече от предната (за която доколкото помня не съм писала нищо, поради дните ми на мързелуване и заетостта ми в Скайрим по Коледа). Дори се замислих дали да не сваля една звезда от първата книга, но се отказах. Neal Shusterman deserves all the stars in the world. φ(..;)
Историята уж беше приключила, но всъщност нещата са много по-сложни отколкото всички са си мислили. Под привидното спокойствие започва да бълбукат планове, които дори бившите членове на Клуба не са си и мечтали да осъществят. Джаред се превръща в жертва на подозрението на всички около него и решава, че е време да сложи край на това като разкрие истинските виновници. Но не е толкова лесно, когато някой почти умира, а градът е подложен на постоянен терор.
Тази книга просто показва за пореден път как омразата заслепява дотолкова, че си готов да унищожиш всичко, което някой обича, дори да убиеш някого, без да мислиш. Просто понякога става така, че човек може да загуби себе си в някоя емоция и колкото по-негативна е тя, толкова по-тежки са последиците. А когато импулсът отмине, остава само вината, всепоглъщащата вина след като се осъзнае стореното. Има и друго, т.нар. mob mentality (забравих как беше това на български (。・・。)) - как тълпата контролира емоциите и действията на отделния човек и как това води неотменно до ескалиране на каквото и да било. Доста си е плашещо.
Нийл Шустърман засяга толкова много теми свързани с насилието, с подозрението и недоверието, с несигурността. Хареса ми развитието във връзката на Джаред с неговите родители, както и тази с Грийн и с Тайсън. Беше едно интересно преживяване.
Profile Image for Sleepless Dreamer.
897 reviews400 followers
January 20, 2016
If you have ever spoken to me about books, I may have mentioned that the Unwind series is my favorite book/ series, tying with Harry Potter. That said, I actually haven't read too many Neal Shusterman books, apart from it. I'm still in the middle of the Everwild (I think that's it's name? I'm on mobile and can't check) series.

This book is an excellent sequel. I read the first one two years ago and I remember it as a great book. I think I might like the first one better but it's clear this book is an amazing continuation that picks up right where the other one left.

I kind of procrastinated everything I needed to do to read this and am panicking right now so I'll make this quick. It has the same themes, Jared's character evolves beautifully, around the middle, it becomes impossible to stop reading, damn that ending, Tyson is a great character and I loved his relationship with Jared.

I disliked immensely the morning jogging bit, I think it won't help the guy whose Cadillac was ruined but okay.

things I'm taking with me
Profile Image for NerdWhoLovesToRead.
76 reviews26 followers
March 18, 2020
I'm always stressed as hell when I write a review for a Neal Shusterman book. Because I always worry about how I could never articulately express my feelings. I become a total fangirl and just can't get my feelings in control. But what can I even do 🤷🏻‍♀️ his books are too fuckin good. This one is a MASTERPIECE.

It was even better than the first book. And the first one was AMAZING.

I teared up at one point.

I got scared to NO END at another point.

And at countless points, my jaw was hanging as I couldn't stop reading.

It is currently 6am and I've lost any desire to sleep at all because I can't get over this book🤷🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for Tami.
410 reviews94 followers
March 26, 2021
Luckily I didn't have to wait 14 years for the conclusion!

This book was truly amazing. I gave 4 stars to the first book because I didn't find the ending to be satisfying, but this one gets 5 stars. You can see Neal's growth as an author, and the ending was excellent. This duology is a must-read!
Profile Image for Erica Alyson.
832 reviews67 followers
October 1, 2014
I liked this book and the last a lot. Great story and life lesson :)
Profile Image for Stephanie Jo.
21 reviews6 followers
June 19, 2020
I barely forced myself to finish this. The plot was thin. Jared was, quite frankly, low-key unbearable. For someone who orchestrated an attempted murder on an innocent kid and encourages cruel pranks, he sure is self-righteous. He genuinely seems to think he’s the victim of the shadow club fallout. Of course his parents don’t trust him. Of course the vice principal is going to think he’s a sociopath (so do I). Of course Austin isn’t going to forgive him. He’s a horrible person. He truly is. He doesn’t seem to have any real empathy. He spends the whole book feeling sorry for himself.

And I agree with Austin: Cheryl should not have been allowed to run. She’s equally awful.

Like, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a main character quite as much as I’ve disliked this entitled brat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Aisha Manus.
Author 1 book7 followers
October 27, 2021
Even though chronologically this book takes place just 4 months after the first it was published 15 years later and I can tell. The growth in Mr Shustermans writing is visible in this book. The dialogue is better, imagery is better, it’s just better. Plus the release of it as an audio book in 2020 makes a lot of sense considering the political climate of the time and how this book and the people in it could easily be an analogy to political parties of the time and how it took just one person to release the crazy in a whole bunch. But unfortunately unlike the book there is no silver bullet yet.

Also I loved the “Nice Socks” moment, gave me fond memories of his masterpiece “unwind” :)
Profile Image for Diane.
7,286 reviews
March 16, 2023
In this sequel to The Shadow Club, Jared finds that his reputation from the first book is causing him problems now. Alec, a new kid, arrives at school acting as if he owns the place. He seems to excel at everything and soon becomes a target of just the kind of pranks that Shadow Club might have pulled: a hairball in his soft drink, a skunk tossed in this family's van, glue substituted for his hair gel. Everyone suspects it's Jared's doing, and although he had nothing to do with it, Jared isn't so sure about the rest of his crew. His attempt to ferret out the truth climaxes in another life-and-death struggle.

Not as strong as the original.
Profile Image for Katie Kelly.
997 reviews6 followers
December 16, 2020
This year, I have started reading several books by Neal Shusterman since I have been really enjoying his books. I read "The Shadow Club" since it was a very quick read and found it enjoyable. So, I thought why not listen to the sequel since it was available on audiobook. Overall, I thought the sequel was fine. Both these books I feel are geared more towards a younger demography, so I wasn't as invested in these characters verses his other books. However, I'm glad I was able to listen to the book in a day.

(Audiobook)
3/5 Stars
Profile Image for Kari.
4,013 reviews96 followers
November 5, 2021
The sequel to The Shadow Club picks up a few months after the vents of the first book. I thought this was a better follow up. The tables are kind of turned on the club. Someone else is playing pranks and the club is getting blamed for it. Even though they have disbanded. There is a good message about friendship in here. It is still a little violent, maybe more than I would recommend for middle grade level.
Profile Image for Zhu Ying.
5 reviews
August 2, 2017
Just like the first one, this book is also awesome and I really like this too. I don't really enjoy series much but this one is a special one. Didn't disappoint me and hook me to the plot just like the first one. I finished two of these in 2 days and I just felt super good after reading these. Absolutely 5 stars for this.
Profile Image for Amanda Walters.
77 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2018
The sequel to The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman. A fantastic read for any YA fan. I wasn’t sure where this book was going to go after the first one. I did wonder if more of the same would become too unbelievable and would leave me thinking he should have left it there. Actually it was really well written and follows on superbly from the first book.

A great little book with a huge 4.5 stars.
Profile Image for Stephanie Sloan.
273 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2023
So good. I honestly think this is neck & neck with the first book. Full of suspense, on the edge of my seat the whole time guessing who was behind the new pranks & only guessed one. Finished this in one day because I couldn't put it down & when I had to all I thought of was continuing to read and make it to the end. Neal shusterman has done it again!
Profile Image for Nikki Marie.
12 reviews
October 4, 2022
This was such a good sequel! I was so excited when I realized there was a second book and then when I read it to find out that not only is it a continuation of the first book, and answers all of the questions you had from the first one, it also ties everything up perfectly.
Profile Image for Rachelle.
1,342 reviews14 followers
June 22, 2019
Extra Book #26 ... not for the EBN Challenge.

Second book of the series. Now the problems from the first book explode. What's gonna happen now?
Profile Image for Michelle.
595 reviews4 followers
March 16, 2023
Fun sequel to the original Shadow Club. A book that preteens and early teens can appreciate.
Profile Image for Bonnie.
187 reviews
March 30, 2023
Classic Shusterman. The ending was spectacular.
Profile Image for Katé.
66 reviews
December 5, 2023
not as amazing as the first book but it's still amazing and is a good follow up to the first book
33 reviews
April 27, 2024
This is one of the few sequels I'll say is better than the first book. Jared and Tyson's sibling relationship is THE BEST!
Profile Image for Shannon Hugo.
475 reviews2 followers
August 19, 2025
It took way too long for the club to rise in the way I wanted it to, but it can also take way too long for people to overcome their labels.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews

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