The Shadows

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*This article contains plot and/or ending details.*

The Shadows is the first volume in *The Books of Elsewhere* series. It features Olive Dunwoody as she adjusts to life in her new house, and learns about the McMartins magical paintings and secrets.

## Blurb

There's something spooky about Olive's new house...

When eleven-year-old Olive moves into the old house on Linden Street, she knows there's something weird about the place - the creepy antique paintings, the three very unusual cats. But the weirdest thing? When Olive finds and puts on a pair of old glasses, she can travel *inside* the paintings, to Elsewhere, a sinister world with secrets to keep. Soon Olive finds herself caught in a dark and dangerous plan. Can she confront the powers in the house that want to get rid of her and her family...before the lights go out for good?

## Praise (front and back)

"Full of magic and mystery, this spine-tingling fetaures a spunky heroine and first rate storytelling." - *Education.com.*

"Middle grade writing as it should be." - *Minneapolis Star Tribune.*

"This will be a hit with young fantasists." - *BCCB,* starred review*.*

"Spook-tacular fun!" - *Discovery Girls.*

"The plot moves quickly ... reccommend this book to ... fans of Neil Gaiman's *Coraline*." - *School Library Journal.*

"Does not disappoint . West introduces a spooky magical world that will captivate middle schoolers." - *Bookpage.com.*

"A fantastic story full of magic and mysteries." - *San Francisco Chronicle*.

"This is a great [read] that will let your imagination run wild." - *TIME for Kids* on *The Shadows.*

"*The Books of Elsewhere* just blew me away." - *New Richmond News*.

"A suspenseful plot...will have readers anxiously waiting for the next book." - *Publishers Weekly*, starred review.

## Plot

We first learn of Ms. McMartin, an old woman who passed away at the age of 104. We learn briefly about her, her old house, and her neighbours, before being introduced to a rather strange family: the Dunwoodys. They are a family of three. Alec and Alice Dunwoody are both maths professors, and have a daughter, named Olive, who isn't exactly good in the maths department. In late June, the family are shown around Ms. McMartin's old stone house by Mr. Hambert, and they decide to buy the house due to the large library. The Dunwoodys move in two weeks later, and Olive observes the large, sepia portraits that hang all around the large house. She finds a few of the portraits, particularly the one of a rolling field with many houses in, which sits right outside her new bedroom, creepy. She also ends up finding a spare room, with fake pearls, handkerchiefs, lacy bloomers, pearl-buttoned gloves, a pair of spectacles and coloured glass beads that she wears to look like Cleopatra and Queen Guinevere.

The painting of the little town isn't the only one Olive finds creepy. Another painting, of a dark forest at night, creeps her out too.

On her first night in the new house, Mrs. Dunwoody comes to tuck Olive into bed, and Olive asks her to remove the painting of the town. Mrs. Dunwoody doesn't really understand why her daughter finds it creepy, but tries to remove it. The painting doesn't move, and Mrs. Dunwoody can't get it off the wall. Mrs. Dunwoody makes sure that Hershel, Olive's stuffed toy bear, is with her daughter, before saying goodnight. Then, she leaves. As soon as her mother leaves her bedroom, Olive gets out of her bed and looks at the picture of the dark forest, and notices something small and white flitting through the forest, and runs back to her bed, cuddling with Hershel.

The next morning, Olive wakes up later than usual, and has cereal for breakfast. Her mum has to go to campus, and her dad has already left for his office. Olive will be left home alone for a couple of hours, and all she has to do is move the wet laundry to the dryer. Olive doesn't want too, because she's scared of the basement and dark. Eventually, her mum leaves, and Olive, extremely reluctantly, goes into the basement.

Olive begins, roughly, stuffing the washing into the dryer and runs back upstairs. She then realises she left the basement lights on. Not wanting to waste electricity, she goes back into the basement, and spots a flash of green eyes watching her from the corner of the basement. Scared, she runs back upstairs and into her bedroom. That night, Olive struggles to sleep, and decides she won't sleep, just stay awake all night. Then, a giant orange cat sneaks in through her window, and walks around for a while as Olive tries calling to it. Eventually, after calling it 'kitty' a few times, the cat looks at her and says "that's not my name."

The cat introduces himself as Horatio, and warns Olive that the house will try to get rid of her and her parents, before disappearing.

***More secrets shall be revealed soon...***