Hrm...I could swear I reviewed this back when I read it, after receiving it as an Early Reviewers book.

It was dark, mostly realistic, but with a frisson of dark magic running underneath the story of growing up in a typical American town. Well...mostly typical, anyway, and to say further would constitute a spoiler.

I quite enjoyed it. ( )

This book was an interesting mix of fantasy and mystery. While at time I wished I knew the narrator's name, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. I especially liked the way the brothers tried to make sense of the disappearances and how they went to their sister for help. ( )

In THE SHADOW YEAR we follow an unnamed narrator, his older brother Jim, and their younger sister Mary through the events of one Summer during the 1960s. A prowler has appeared on their street, causing consternation for the adults, but excitement for the narrator and his siblings as they finally are able to fill their Summer with something: they are going to discover the identity of the prowler. At the same time, the chilcren take note of a mysterious white car driving quietly around their neighborhood late at night.

The boys build a model of their home town in the basement, which they dub Botchtown. The narrator begins constructing stories about Botchtown's inhabitants, Jim adds more details to the people and homes in the model, and Mary... Mary moves the pieces around when the boys aren't around. It doesn't seem random; after she correctly predicts the future location of the prowler and white car, the boys actively want her to help.

As with any Ford piece, the prose is lucid and easy. Even the most complicated topics sound simple coming off Ford's pen. And there's a depth to his writing that is practically unparalleled. While the story moves along and the boys try to uncover the identity of the prowler and the driver of the white car, Ford paints an uneasy family portrait: the boys' father is working several jobs and the family is barely scraping by; the mother drinks herself to sleep most nights; the grandparents live above the garage in an apartment; and the boys have to deal with bullies and pranks at school. As a reader, you're torn between wanting to learn more about the family and wanting to solve the mystery. In a lesser writer's hands, this would be distracting, but for Ford, it just flows naturally.

And everything is told through the eyes of a nine- or ten-year-old boy's eyes. You never forget that it's his voice that's telling the story. So you have his sense of wonder when seeing things for the first time, his terror at events that are mundane to adults, and his unquestioning belief in the strength of his own family. He knows things aren't right, but he loves it all the same.

The only potential drawback the book had for me was that I felt the ending sort of just happened. It felt, open-ended, almost unresolved. However, I look at it as a reflection on real life. Real life doesn't tie itself up neatly; real life has all sorts of things happening and nothing comes to a solid conclusion.

This isn't a book you read for the ending, this is a book you read for the journey. ( )

Well, this adult mystery got me thinking, which is a good thing. But I'm not sure if it's a great book or not! And I hate that. The boy has an older brother who can beat up anyone and a younger sister who is just a little strange. She pretends to be someone else and "knows" things. When a peeping tom is seen around the neighborhood, the siblings decide to solve the crime. Using a model of their town, the three create clay figures of their neighbors, the cars, and the houses. But then a classmate goes missing. And someone else dies. And the peeping tom is still around. A lot happens during the Shadow Year, so if you lie subtle suspense and mysteries, this one is for you! ( )

i was lucky enough to get an early reviewer's copy of the shadow year, and then it sat on the pile. who knows, too many library books due back perhaps. so i finally got around to it and i'm caught between disbelief that i didn't devour it right away and joy that i waited and got to read it now. what a great novel.
it's a mystery, a memory, a ghost story, a sleepy/suspensful summer.
i love books with teen protagonists, there's usually a sense of optimism, even amidst the darkest moments, and the shadow year didn't fail to deliver.
jeffery ford's prose is beautiful and poetic. overall an enjoyable and subtle book.