I truly enjoyed this novel; it's amazing to follow along with Clara as she goes through her journey trying to find information about her father and sister. The bond and friendship Clara makes with her elderly neighbor, Georg Kominsky, is inspiring. Clara finds out about Kominsky's past and what it was like to live in his old country that doesn't exist anymore. She tries to re-patch her relationship with her mother and make things right but will that ever happen? Will she find her sister and father? Read the novel to find out! The plot twist at the end of the novel made me emotional and shocked. I recommend this novel to anyone and everyone; I truly enjoyed it and I hope you will too!

This was a well written book with well developed characters, and there were parts that touched me deeply. My problem with the book was that there wasn’t enough of a story, and this resulted in too much repetition of the “baby” theme and other parts which felt like filler to pad the story. Maybe it would have worked better as a short story. That being said, I’m going to look for more by this author.

The book was a little slow but very interesting. Eleven year old Clara struggles to find out the truth about her missing father and twin sister.

This was one of the strangest books I have read. It was a lot of made up stories and uncovering actual truths. Some of the stories repeated a few times.

I liked the way the author describes the main character's love of words and how she treats words, phrases and sentences. She points out to people that her name is Clara winter (with a lowercase w to prove that winter - the season - did not win).

The book was a quick read. After page 170-ish through the end of the book, it was more and more interesting as more of Clara's truths came into play.

Shadow Baby introduces the dichotomy of the selfishness of youth with the selflessness of age and the loss of innocence that comes with the moment that self absorption evolves into awed appreciation. The dialogue is witty, but can also sometimes be heartbreaking. The story is layered and interesting. Reading this book encouraged me to appreciate people in new ways and any time a book helps shape me into a better person, I consider it remarkable.

Worst title ever. I am practically embarrassed to tell people the title. Every time I did, I'd have to give a disclaimer that it's way better than it sounds.

It's an excellent book. Very well written. I love Clara, the protagonist. Clara from this book and Oskar from "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" should get married. Clara is funny, sweet, heartbreaking and brilliant.

So well done.

Shadow Baby is one of the worst books I ever remember reading, and if I had to describe it in one word it would be "tedious." For me it was a completely dismal story that tells you the end in the beginning. It's so unbearably repetitive that there's perhaps 100 pages too many. Literally the same sentences appear over & over. I found myself wondering if we are supposed to glean that the narrator Clara is autistic or she is simply an odd child as repeatedly stated. The relationship with the old man is sweet, the father's "origin" is predictable, the mother figure/relationship too remote to be believable. I read this book while on a boat and sincerely considered throwing the pages one by one in the sea so no others need be subjected to such tedious misery, but couldn't bring myself to soil the sea however artfully. One passage spoken by the mother triumphs, all else disappoints.

My daughter was required to read this book for her AP lit class, so we own it. I am currently waiting for a book at the library that I really want to read and I am first in line for the next copy, so I read this as a place holder. It was a really funny book, which was a surprise. It is written from the perspective/narration of an 11 year old girl, and her thought process is hysterical. It does deal with some adult topics toward the end. She was conceived in rape. It never says so explicitly, but it is implied. I think this is a YA book, so parents may want to know that before they let young kids read. Recommended.

I am always in awe of Alison McGhee's writing. Poetic, descriptive, and full of heart. I always find myself rereading paragraphs to take in the beauty of her words. This story touched me on many levels. As a child who created fictional stories to cope with childhood trauma, I could relate to Clara's imagination and her coping mechanisms to deal with questions about her unanswered past (the death of her twin, the absence of her father). The pairing of an illiterate immigrant and a young reader with a strong vocabulary worked. I enjoyed the friendship that developed between the elderly man and Clara, the main character. Shadow Baby is a book I found hard to put back on my bookshelf. There are lines I want to return to again and again.

Wow Unique Story

Very good book. It had a very unique story line, with an intense, intelligent and interesting main character who is only 11 year's old.

I would highly recommend it to anyone with a love of reading!

It's okay.

Well I just loved Clara. What a unique, flawed little character who lives in story and words. I could see her fully alive in the author's mind....funny, precocious and tragic.

The plot left some things to be desired and whoever came up with tbe title should be slapped, but as a character study / coming of age book, this is great. If I were a middle school English teacher, I'd add this to a reading list right quick.