Review/Recenzie: Shadow of Time - Jen Minkman




All Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship.
But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?
Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.

I read this for the Paranormal Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Auntie Spinelli Reads.






English

Ever since the very first pages, I felt incredibly hooked by the story. I usually know right from the beggining if I like a book or not, and it seems that I was right this time too.

Hannah is a lovable character right from the start, with her shyness, sense of humour and insecureness. She is very dedicated in everything she does, and will not back out when it comes to the people she loves, even if she is in mortal danger. Throughout the book, I could relate to most of what she was experiencing, but I felt a little bit annoyed when she was crying like a baby because of Josh. However, I also think that this would have been the case for any of us women if we had had to go through a situation like hers. I could tell from very early on that there was something more to Josh than met the eye. And it's such a pity I can't tell you how amazing it was when I discovered exactly what. I would spoil the book for you if I did. His connection to Hannah is very clear, not only to them, but also to the people around them. It literally made me mumble "you idiot!" anytime Josh was afraid of getting involved into a serious relationship with her. I loved him at the beggining, hated him and ended up loving him a lot more when I found out about his motives.

My favourite parts were definitely the ones where the Dinè's way of life was detailed. From the way they think and eat, to the way they act and talk. Jen documented herself very well and it is amazing to what extent she managed to describe everything, especially when you find out that she has never been to America, let alone Navajo Nation! When I got to the half of the book, I felt that everything was happening too slowly, but then there were two chapters about what happened in the past, and everything began to make so much sense, it was actually incredible how everything was connected, how every single detail had a purpose and a meaning behind it.

Honestly, I would have loved to find out more about the past. It was so intriguing to learn about the Navajo history and language, their traditions and the struggles they had been through to survive. At each of these two chapters' ending, I was so touched I felt like crying. Jen managed to make me very interested in the Dinè, and I will definitely read more books about them, especially nonfiction ones, as I want to learn more.

"Shadow of Time" is marked as YA Paranormal, but it is so much more than that! It is one of those books that once finished, you feel you are a better, more mature person. I recommend it to everyone, but I think it will appeal more to girls and women.

____________________

Română

Încă de la primele pagini, m-am simţit incredibil de captivată de poveste. Deobicei ştiu de la început dacă îmi va plăcea o carte sau nu, şi se pare că am avut dreptate şi de data asta.

Hannah e un personaj plăcut chiar de la început, cu timiditatea ei, simţul umorului şi nesiguranţa de care dă dovadă. Este foarte dedicată în tot ce face şi nu va bate în retragere când vine vorba de persoanele pe care le iubeşte, chiar dacă e în pericol de moarte. De-a lungul cărţii, m-am identificat cu majoritatea situaţiilor prin care trecea, dar m-a enervat puţin când plângea ca un bebeluş din cauza lui Josh. Totuşi, mai cred şi că la fel ar fi făcut majoritatea femeilor dacă ar fi trecut prin o situaţie ca a Hannei. Mi-am dat seama de la început că Josh e mai mult decât ceea ce pare. Şi e mare păcat că nu vă pot spune cât de uimitor a fost când am descoperit exact ce. V-aş strica plăcerea de a citi cartea dacă aş face-o. Conexiunea dintre el şi Hannah e foarte evidentă, nu doar lor, ci şi celor din jurul lor. Efectiv am mormăit „idiotule!” de fiecare dată când Josh se temea să se implice într-o relaţie serioasă cu ea. Mi-a plăcut ca personaj l-a început, apoi l-am detestat şi am ajuns să-l plac şi mai mult atunci când am aflat motivele lui.

Părţile mele preferate au fost acelea în care era detaliat modul de viaţă Dinè. De la felul în care gândesc şi mănâncă, până la cum vorbesc şi se comportă. Jen s-a documentat foarte bine şi e uimitor cât de detaliat a reuşit să descrie totul, mai ales că nu a fost niciodată în America, darămite în Naţiunea Navajo! Când am ajuns la jumătatea cărţii, am simţit că totul se desfăşura prea lent, dar apoi au fost două capitole despre ce s-a întâmplat în trecut şi totul a început să aibă sens, şi e incredibil cum toate erau legate unele de altele, cum fiecare detaliu avea un scop şi un înţeles în spate.

Sincer, mi-ar fi plăcut să aflu mai multe despre trecut. A fost atât de interesant să aflu despre istoria Navajo şi limba lor, tradiţiile şi greutăţile prin care au trecut pentru a supravieţui. La finalul fiecărui din aceste două capitole, am fost atât de emoţionată încât mi-a venit să plâng. Jen a reuşit să mă facă foarte interesată de Dinè, şi cu siguranţă voi citi mai multe cărţi despre ei, mai ales nonfictive, pentru că vreau să învăţ mai multe.

„Shadow of Time” e categorisit ca roman paranormal pentru tineri, dar e mult mai mult decât atât! E una dintre acele cărţi care, după ce le termini, te simţi o persoană mai bună, mai matură. O recomand oricui, dar cred că le va plăcea mai mult fetelor şi femeilor.

You Might Also Like

4 comentarii

  1. Thanks so much, Adela!! :) It will please you to hear that I am planning on publishing a sort of companion novella to this book, with more info about the past. I just had to make editing decisions in order to speed up the story and make the book a reasonable size, but I want to publish the edited-out parts too, as soon as I get round to translating that. It's about 66 pages long! And another reviewer from England made a similar remark about the 'past passages', so I know there'll be genuine interest for it!

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  2. Wow, this books sounds really interesting! Nice review!! I am sure that info about other places and the past can make almost everybody curious!
    I love the cover of the book!!

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  3. Thank you, Jen! I look forward to it! :D

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  4. It really is amazing! You should definitely read it!

    RăspundețiȘtergere

Comments