Shadow People

Gabriel, Lydia, Alec, and Hollis–four seem­ing­ly dif­fer­ent teenagers. They are thrown togeth­er by a chance meet­ing in a desert­ed camp. Or maybe it was­n’t chance. For there are bonds that tie them to each oth­er, bonds of lone­li­ness, of frus­tra­tion — and of anger. Apart they are ordi­nary enough, unre­mark­able and not much noticed. Togeth­er, in the dark of night, they are drawn to vio­lence like moths to a flame.

Gem is a class­mate whose path cross­es theirs when she falls in love with Gabriel. Well-ground­ed, with a sol­id sense of her­self, will she offer a way out for Gabriel? Or will the whirlpool of destruc­tion swal­low her, too?

These five voic­es com­bine to tell the chill­ing tale of what hap­pens in a small town when teenage fury is unleashed. And these five voic­es also tell some painful truths about the roots of that vio­lence. Joyce McDon­ald’s superbly craft­ed nov­el is both grip­ping and deeply dis­turb­ing. It is a riv­et­ing read and a haunt­ing look at shad­owy fig­ures who sud­den­ly assume the shape of the boy or girl next door.