A copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds was provided to me by Amulet Books/Netgalley for review purposes.'Stay still. Smile. And summon the dead.'Mary Shelley Black is a sixteen year old girl living in a war ravaged world. After her father is arrested she is forced to flee and stays with her Aunt in San Diego. After losing her father and finding out that her childhood love, Stephen, has lost his life in the war, Mary Shelley struggles desperately to cling to a reason to continue living when she's visited by Stephen, as a spirit who is traumatized by visions of his death that he continues to re-live. Realizing that she's the only one that can see him and the only one that can help him she begins to seek out information regarding his death and what truly happened to him.Wowsa. This book was high on my anticipating in 2013 list and I'm so very glad to say that it lived up to all the anticipation. This was a fabulous, and fresh ghost story that fans of the genre will enjoy.'I think between the war and the flu, no one's going to escape getting haunted. We live in a world so horrifying, it frightens even the dead.'Blackbirds had an amazing story albeit based strongly on actual history. The story centers on the year 1918 when the Spanish influenza has swept through cities and World War I is ongoing. It was quite a dreary time to write about and Cat Winters didn't hold back or try and make the story any less bleak and I loved that. The black and white pictures that were included throughout the book made the perfect addition to really showcase the mood of the story.And oh, young love. The love between Mary and Stephen was so touching and quite shocking in its fervency. It may have seemed a tad unlikely that two could love each other so much at such a young age but it was beautifully written and completely believable. Your heart will ache for them.This could have been like any other typical war story but what really managed to make this something special and distinctive was the focus on the increased interest in a spiritual nature as mourners became willing to attempt anything to assuage the pain of losing a loved one. A truly wonderful story, Cat Winters debut is an absolute triumph. In the Shadow of Blackbirds possesses a subtle intensity that will leave you breathless.*All quotes taken are from an uncorrected proof*
