Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Summary
Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye.

Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they're starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

Review
It has been said there are five factual, strategic, and effective stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each consumer of grief is supposed to experience these emotions in the exact order listed and then accept the reality that their loved one or close friend is in a better place. End of story. The unexpected loss of an intimate family member is equipped with a multitude of feelings that no one can truly explain. There is no possible strategy to fully accept death; death is an inevitable solution in all of us, especially for Rory Miller’s family.

Rory Miller, her father, and her older sister Darcy are just one of numerous families dealing with the battle of cancer and their significant loss of Rory and Darcy’s mother to this disease. Rory works to suppress her feelings through cross country running, academic science competitions, and immense amounts of studying. As if the loss of her mother isn’t enough to cope with, a short cut through the woods on the way home from school one day will force her into a deeper sense of desperation and fear of the unknown. Rory is attacked in the woods by Roger Krauss, a serial killer of young girls who has skillfully eluded the FBI for the past decade. Unfortunately, Rory’s attacker also happens to be the beloved math teacher Mr. Nell of Princeton Hills High School. A man she thought she knew and admired through academic mentoring. Krauss has brutally murdered 14 girls in several states, but that is not enough as he plans to make Rory number 15.

As the plot progresses into Rory’s family traveling to their mysterious new lives, there is a sense of hope that develops with the fast paced plot as her family encounters the vacation island of Juniper Landing, their new home. Rory and Darcy can barely stand each other, let alone their father after the death of their mother, but with a fresh start, new faces, and a new last name, what could go wrong?

As Rory’s family is entered into the witness protection program due to the nightmare of horrors invading their home, I found myself unable to put this book down. The concept of being attacked and or stalked by a serial killer is one of my worst fears as a girl myself, especially the idea of my family being included in such a horrible experience. I followed Rory through her inability to sort out her grief between her deceased mother and her living sister and father, while the rest of her family retreated into the comfort of the shadows. As I followed Rory’s family through each painful memory of their mother, the limited amount of photographs and personal belongings they were allowed to bring with them, and the overall sense of confusion they feel as their lives continue to spiral into the unknown. The process of moving your entire life from your childhood home and even an unexpected future that you did not plan for after high school would be extremely emotional.

Kate Brian is by far an extremely edgy author who continually leaves me with a sense of wanting more. Shadowlands is the first of a new series that unravels the grief and fear within a close-knit family, while creating constant amounts of character development that is easy to visualize and understand. Rory is depicted as much more than your average teenage girl, but a girl who is afraid of her own grief, but not her own ability to overcome the unknown. Along with her family’s journey, there are many life lessons as well as the determined ability to let someone in. You never truly know who your friends are until you are faced with a life-altering experience, and in Rory’s case, if only they knew.

Reviewed by Nicole Williams

Book Information
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: 9/3/2013
Pages: 352

Review: Hereafter by Kate Brian

Summary
Rory Miller thought her life was over when a serial killer set his sights on her and forced her into witness protection. But a fresh start on Juniper Landing Island was exactly what she and her family needed. For the first time in years she and her sister hang out at the beach, gossip about boys, and party together. She's also made friends with a local clique-including a magnetic and mysterious boy named Tristan.

But Rory's world is about to change again. Picturesque Juniper Landing isn't what it seems. The truth about the swirling fog that rolls in each morning, the bridge that leads to nowhere, and those beautiful locals who seem to watch Rory's every move is more terrifying than being hunted by Steven Nell. And all Rory ever wanted was the truth. Even if it means learning that she can never go home again.

Review
The key to any relationship is trust; whether it’s romantic or friendly, trust is what holds two people together. When you are forced to remove yourself from a familiar environment and become acquainted with new people who could possibly be relationship worthy, you become more cautious and aware of your surroundings. Rory Miller is faced with the inability to trust anyone on Juniper Landing because there are too many unanswered questions and unanswered occurrences that she cannot explain. The mysterious bridge that is never used, the ominous fog that rolls in on random occasions, and most of all the clique of beautiful people who seem to be watching her every move. 

Rory begins to feel at home with the ability to spend quality time with her father and sister without encountering the fear of a serial killer or a home with memories of her deceased mother at every turn. Juniper Landing seems to be the new place to call home, have a fresh start, and meet new faces who can become trustworthy of a relationship. During her time at Juniper Landing, along comes Tristan, the physically perfect, yet mysteriously witty boy who Rory cannot seem to stay away from. He is willing to tell her the truth, but the real question is will she truly believe him? Can she deal with more haunting secrets to keep away from her family and only to herself? The problem with finding out the truth and finding you can trust the person who delivers the truth is that you are not sure you are going to be able to accept what you hear once and for all. 

As I dove into the sequel to Shadowlands, I realized that Rory’s journey of discovery on Juniper Landing is similar to a teenage woman looking to find her true self in an environment full of strangers. Of course the consequences Rory is about to learn may be worth more than her own life, but that does not stop her from truly attempting to take a step back and appreciate her family and what little she has left of her previous life. I enjoy a book that is able to take a common concept that everyone believes they know the answer to and turn the logic into a sense of natural debate. There isn’t much in life that is absolutely certain, and the ability to debate an important issue while learning more about yourself and your strengths is quite rewarding. 

Kate Brian’s sequel to this new and endearing series is an excellent portrayal of dramatic form mixed with pure logic. There is nothing certain, absolute, or impossible in these books, but rather the possibilities are endless for Rory and her family. This may seem as a bit of a stretch to a curious new reader, but Brian captivates her readers with the ability to making the book a constant page turner while consciously reflecting on their own personal experiences and what truly makes you, you. 

Reviewed by Nicole Williams  

Book Information
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: 10/1/2013
Pages: 320