Helpful Score: 3
ISBN 0679832556 - This book strikes me very much as one of those that would always be followed by a quiz with a lot of "What do you think..." questions. There's a great deal unanswered, but it's still a touching story.
Audrey's mother has died and, for a few days, things were strange. Strangers still, for Audrey, is that the rest of the world has begun to act normal again - when she knows that the normal she's had all her life will never come again. Feeling guilty for wishing her mother dead, unable to relate to her father and just beginning to let go of the imaginary world of her childhood, Audrey is lonely. She walks near the railroad tracks one day and meets a dog that she calls Shadows.
Shadows is a beautiful dog who seems to like her as much as she needs him. The two walk and play, and Shadows listens while Audrey talks. Always remaining just out of her reach, Shadows offers her comfort and an outlet for her grief and guilt that she doesn't have at home right now. When Audrey decides to find out more about this dog, and who his owners might be, she stumbles upon a mystery that she feels compelled to solve. Is he real? Is she imagining him? Or is the answer more simple than that - is he a ghost?
Audrey's non-relationship with her father is a glaring issue, as is her guilt over wishing her mother dead, both of which top the list of "What do you think..." questions that I can almost imagine facing. This is a book that I'm truly shocked to see ranked in the 5-million range on Amazon. Before each chapter is a beautiful pencil-sketch illustration from Dave Henderson which really add a superb finishing touch to the tale.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Audrey's mother has died and, for a few days, things were strange. Strangers still, for Audrey, is that the rest of the world has begun to act normal again - when she knows that the normal she's had all her life will never come again. Feeling guilty for wishing her mother dead, unable to relate to her father and just beginning to let go of the imaginary world of her childhood, Audrey is lonely. She walks near the railroad tracks one day and meets a dog that she calls Shadows.
Shadows is a beautiful dog who seems to like her as much as she needs him. The two walk and play, and Shadows listens while Audrey talks. Always remaining just out of her reach, Shadows offers her comfort and an outlet for her grief and guilt that she doesn't have at home right now. When Audrey decides to find out more about this dog, and who his owners might be, she stumbles upon a mystery that she feels compelled to solve. Is he real? Is she imagining him? Or is the answer more simple than that - is he a ghost?
Audrey's non-relationship with her father is a glaring issue, as is her guilt over wishing her mother dead, both of which top the list of "What do you think..." questions that I can almost imagine facing. This is a book that I'm truly shocked to see ranked in the 5-million range on Amazon. Before each chapter is a beautiful pencil-sketch illustration from Dave Henderson which really add a superb finishing touch to the tale.
- AnnaLovesBooks
