Mya's First Review

Shadow
by Jenny Moss
Reviewed by Mya Goodell

The fantasy novel Shadow by Jenny Moss is an amazing story where the setting takes you to an old castle far, far away in Deor, a long time ago. The protagonist (Shadow), must protect and “shadow” the queen of Deor from a dangerous prophecy. The character Shadow is an orphan girl, the same age as the queen, who grew up in the castle. She is basically a slave to the queen, fulfilling her every need when summoned. The character the queen of Deor is spoiled, and treats Shadow like dirt. One of the conflicts in this story is the prophecy, which belongs to the queen and if it is true then the queen will die before she turns 16 on her upcoming birthday. Everyone around the castle becomes anxious and stressed because they are not sure how the queen will die and what will happen after her death, and who is royalty and willing to take her place.

The queen becomes jealous of how smart Shadow is when they are being tutored by the castle tutor. She then lashes out at Shadow, and Shadow is sent to the dungeons for shoving the queen while trying to defend herself. Piers, Shadow’s young, grey-eyed friend in the castle, helps her in the dungeon by giving her one of her favorite foods: almonds. Later on, the character Sir. Kenway helps set Shadow free from the dungeons, so that she can continue protecting the queen from the prophecy. Sir. Kenway is a handsome young knight who visits the castle often to see the queen. Sir. Kenway is told to keep Shadow safe from all dangers.

Soon a major conflict start coming up around the castle, as several murders of innocents take place, and Sir. Kenway and Shadow manage to escape Unfortunately, they are forced to leave their friends and loved ones behind in the castle. Upon leaving the castle, Shadow must set off on a journey to find her destiny and discover the mysteries of her undefined past. Not only that, she must save her fading kingdom before all of it is lost forever and ever. On the journey, Shadow and Sir. Kenway meet new friends, and some are even magically gifted.

If you haven’t already read the fairy tale Shadow by Jenny Moss, I strongly recommend it, for it is an excellent book filled with magic, adventure, mystery and suspense, with surprises lurking around every corner of their journey to save their kingdom. Even if fantasy books aren’t your favorite kind of story, like me, I still liked it and recommend it. I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it.

This story also contains romance, because behind the scenes in the story, Sir. Kenway who was supposably going to marry the queen told Shadow he was just pretending to like the queen and that he really liked Shadow instead.

One of the reasons I liked the book was because of how well Shadow told the story from her point of view. The author uses such description in her words so that it made me feel like I was right there with her, in the old castle walls far, far away. I also like the book because of the mystery and conflict in the story when Shadow is trying to figure out her past. Overall it is a wonderful fantasy book.