The Shadow of Blackbirds

 
The Shadow of Blackbirds
Cat Winters
387 pages

 Summary: Blackbirdsnovel.com ("IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters: About the Novel." IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters: About the Novel. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <http://www.blackbirdsnovel.com/p/about-novel.html>.)

 In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Opinion:
Wow. That's pretty much all i thought about this book once it was down. It jammed so much history and mysticism into its 387 pages. I learned about the fever during 1918. I'm a huge American and world history buff but i haven't heard anything about a fever during that time. The pictures included at the beginning of each new part of the story helped move it along. It was the perfect horror mystery. I never would have guessed who  the blackbirds were, at least the non-predictable one. The book gave off a harsh reality, which I believed was able to correctly represent the horrors of that time. A good read, maybe not at night though.

P.S. Here's an example of a real spirit photo from the 1900's:


P.P.S. My reading bowl team did not place in the 2nd round so we were eliminated, but next year watch out.

P.P.P.S Leave a comment please. Too many people read this for no one, not to have an opinion they want to say to me.