Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui - OPTIONAL

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui, 256 pages. Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2024. $18

Language: R (11 swears, 2 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG (fighting)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

18yo Mae is desperate to find her missing sister Inez. Her parents want to move on from the pain and accept that Inez will never come home, but Mae sees how their marriage is crumbling and how they’ve changed since Inez went missing. She goes to New York under the guise of cleaning out Inez’ apartment in search of any possible clues to her whereabouts. She meets Dev, a neighbor of Inez’, and he seems just as interested in finding Inez as Mae is. So they venture out together in search of a mysterious white painting that Inez has many notes of research on. What Mae discovers changes both of their lives forever!

The alternating timelines build suspense. I like how dedicated Mae is to her sister. I’m fascinated with Dev and his background. Dev is from India and Mae from Africa.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah