I didn't like this book. I found it kinda hard to read. Not in the material was over my head, or that there were a lot of words that I didn't understand, but in the fact the way the main character Clara winter narrates her story. It was difficult to know what was real and what was something that she made up. But on the other hand, Clara is only 11 years old. And a lot of the time, at that age, kids will make up things in their mind to explain something. And that I completely understand.

Clara lives with her Mom, and she wants answers. She wants to know about her Father and her Grandfather and the only person she can ask is not giving her the information that she needs. So she makes up stories about what "might have been" or what "could be".

And it's only at the end, do I understand the Mom's reasonings of not giving that information out.

Shadow Baby..

Awesomely written. Great voice, story stays true to character with the age of the child and her questions about life..

Started this morning but had to head for work. It's time for some gender balance in my list, which tends to be male author heavy. Seems interesting so far but I'm a bit concerned after looking at some Goodreads reviews. Have any guys read this book???
Done now after another one-night read. This will be my first pre-composed review. I don't know if I'll keep doing it or go back to improvisation with notes. I took a night off from books last night for this and other stuff including a great story in the latest New Yorker that reminded me of "Bonfire of the Vanities". So... I thought this was a pretty good book. No reason for guys to shy away but it is in the female-themed category. I place this book in the company of three others I've read recently. These have featured: a)difficult mother-daughter relationships, b)trauma and stress in the family, c)uncontrollable and unforseen outside events, d)pain and suffering, e)poor family communications/suppression of secrets and f)some sort of catharsis/ improvement/growth/learning/emotional-relational progress. Yup... gal stuff. These other books are:"We Were the Mulvaneys", "The Liar's Club" and "She's Come Undone". The latter is mostly a bad book and the only one written by a man. It does, however, feature a lonely only child girl protagonist with a clueless mother. I rate "Shadow Baby" the best of the four but the competition is not strenuous. MINOR QUIBBLES: a) the central metaphor(s) of metalworking and apprenticeship, while touching and apt, are a bit repetitive, b)Tamar uses the word "beforehand" on page 37. Doesn't work... c)AM never mentions some important metalworking tools; those used to finish and ease the sharp edges(files, a grinder, abrasive cloth/paper), d)goggles are not necessary for soldering, only welding and e)duct tape does indeed tear in both directions. MEDIUM QUIBBLES: a)Tamar's cluelessness about the chicken and egg issues is not credible. She didn't seem THAT distracted, b)in a passage near the end the daughter briefly takes the role of adult/parent/therapist while Ma is the child/patient. That's a cliche' and not credible. DOUBLE DRIBBLE QUIBBLES: a) the author uses snow and winter a LOT. Not just one but two blizzards come into critical play. The scene of the second one seems to be a direct and blatant "borrowing" from Joyce Carol Oates(see above). The rural NY setting is the same too. I assume it was unintentional. I did the same thing in High School. And b)Clara's voice was not consistently convincing as that of an 11/12 year old. Cute, smart, wordy, quirky, funny, spunky and adorable but nobody's THAT precocious. She seemed at times more like a precocious, nerdy and slightly autistic 20-year old. LITTLE LIKINGS: a)the Conrad Aiken reference("Silent Snow"), b)the bits of Bhuddist understanding, c) the "You Can Count On Me"(another rural New York tale) reunion let down, d) the Duvall("Sling Blade") homage in the same scene and e)an emotional connection to "Bridge to Terabithia", a mournful tale of childhood loneliness and loss.
Credibility is always an issue for this kind of "realistic" fiction. Because it's fiction we cut the author some slack. It's understood that in order to make a point some manipulation is likely necessary. But... we need to believe that the characters and events have a grounding in logic and believability. This author does an OK job on that score but only OK. Always good to avoid any TV movie special twists and turns. Is she a good writer? I think so. At least I enjoyed reading this more than "... The Mulvaneys" 3 1/2 stars...

Loved this book!!!! I read it in one day coming back from vacation. Clara winter is a great character. She's an odd little girl who befriends an old man. Clara winter and the old man have lots in common including their hatred of winter, which is ironic b/c they both live in upstate NY in the Adirondack Mtns where they endure some of the harshest winters and is the same season which shares Clara's last name. They both have their reasons for their feelings towards winter and the reasons unfold beautifully by then end of this book, which is sad, but also has a satisfying ending in my opinion.

Recommended to me by a teacher in our district because the author is from around here and the setting is right here, I reluctantly stepped in. I wasn't attacted to the cover or title, and this book isn't in our HS library, so it didn't seem like a good contender for my time. I read it for her because she reads the books I recommend; seemed fair.

It was hard to get into...the precocious, supposedly 12-year-old narrator was not a believable one. Either you have to believe that she's extremely different from other children or you think that the author is clearly out of touch with child development. Little things annoyed me. I reluctantly continued on.

I ended up loving the story, and choosing to believe that Clara is a real, unique child and that the author has done a great job after all. There was depth, an interesting plot, and two truly loveable characters that ended up reminding me of my relationship with my own grandfather when I rediscovered him near the end of his life. The fact that the setting was so familiar (actual street names, local landmarks, and buildings with which I was familiar) enhanced the story as well, as my colleague had mentioned. This was worth reading, and I'm glad I gave it a try. I even think that it will stay with me in my memory years from now as if Georg, Clara, and Tamar are people I once knew up in the Adirondacks.

This is a riveting story about a very bright and eccentric 12 year old girl being raised by her single mom, Tamer. She is assigned to write an oral history and chooses to interview an "old man" who lives in a trailer near the church where her mom attends choir practice. Clara knows she had a twin who died at birth, but wants badly to know more about her sister, her did, and her grandfather. Maybe not great literature, but it sure is a great story!

It took me longer to finish this book . It wasn’t a favorite of mine , but I didn’t dislike it either . The main character is an eleven year old girl that tells stories and is very mature and odd . She befriends an elderly man and he sort of becomes her friend or grandfatherly role . She wants to understand why her baby sister isn’t alive , who her father is , and why she doesn’t have any contact with other family besides her mother . It’s a difficult book to understand what the plot really is , but there’s a bit of good story telling also .

Did I mention that I cried. I was reading it while waiting at the beauty salon and continued while sitting in the hairdresser's chair, all the time crying. I stopped reading, so my tear ducts had a chance to dry a little, but I couldn't wait long enough. The moment I started reading again, tears were just streaming down my face. The shampoo girl finally gave me another towel and I finished the book, covered with tears. So if you need a good cry and you are either in place where no one can see your tears or you don't mind a whole beauty salon pointing and laughing, read this book.

I loved this book! It's written from the perspective of an intelligent, precocious 11 year old with a vivid imagination. She has several un-answered questions in her life and because her mom refuses to answer, she makes up elaborate stories to fill the voids in her life. She loves words and mentions her favorites often - as a lover of words myself, I loved that part and enjoyed her descriptions of the words she loves most.

Elegant and honest writing with a quirky protagonist, this story told from perspective of an eleven-year old, ( some suspension of disbelief required for such precociousness). This could be termed a coming-of-age story ( but not a YA novel) and has a different twist. Alison McGhee is author of books for adults ( this one), children ( "Julia Gillian and the Art of Knowing"), and young adults ("Snap").

I rate this 4.5 stars, i removed -0.5 stars because the name shadow baby to me didn't make sense, i loved the book, i had a good cry reading this book. It was great! But there was a lot of confusion about this book. And im still AM questioning it. But i cant get the answers, and to be honest i liked that: after reading it, the book will leave you confused and makes you question everything

Fascinating depiction of how a child's imagination can help her through even the most painful losses.