In The Shadows is a graphic novel hybrid, in a style that's reminiscent of The Invention Of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck (both of which were written by Brian Selznick). The text in this novel was written by Kiersten White and the novel's artwork was illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo; both White's prose and Bartolo's artwork are extremely well-crafted and masterful, but for some reason I didn't really enjoy this novel. In The Shadows follows two converging story-lines and I wasn't a fan of the convoluted way these story-lines connected.
Kiersten White's prose is incredibly addicting and transports to a small, remote town that a witch inhabits. My main qualm with In The Shadows is that I never formed a connection with her characters, most likely due to the alternating plot lines. This apathy towards the characters never allowed me to invest myself in the story and have a desire to continue reading. I could have just set this book aside and I wouldn't have cared at all because there wasn't a hook factor that allured me back to In The Shadows. I did decide to finish this because it's not lengthy and I was curious to see if the ending would redeem this book for me; the ending was rather messy and I feel as if quitting early on would've been a better option.
Though Kiersten White and Bartolo are talented individuals, In The Shadows failed to make an impression on me and this was one of the weaker graphic novels that I've read lately. Pulling a graphic novel like this isn't an easy feat and it saddens me that In The Shadows failed at doing this alternating story structure justice. I think Kiersten White's novels are far better and I'd recommend picking them up instead of In The Shadows.
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