Shadow State by Elyse Brayden - OPTIONAL

Shadow State by Elyse Brayden, 277 pages. Imprint (Macmillan Publishing Group), 2018. $17.99

Language: R (37 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

After falling into and working to get out of her depression in the past year, Brynn is disappointed that she still isn’t back to her normal self. Anxiety and unfamiliar memories make Brynn worry that her depression is coming back—but the real reason behind her odd experiences is so much worse and has consequences so much bigger than Brynn.

Brayden hooked me within the first ten pages, which helped me slog through what felt like a lot of background information before returning to Brynn’s intriguing situation. Throughout the book, I was as disoriented and anxious as Brynn, a full participant in her reality. The book was written well enough to help me, as the reader, become suspicious of the right person eventually, but I’m disappointed that Brayden did not give me enough information to figure out the mystery by myself. I’m also not a fan of the ambiguous ending, but the story was entertaining to read overall.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen