Book review: Jordan's Shadow by Robin Johns Grant

Jordan’s Shadow

Robin Johns Grant

Can’t stop reading!

February 2015

Print 12.99

E book: 2.99

Buy on Amazon

From the Publisher:

The Crosby family has a frightening problem. Is it psychological? Supernatural? Or something entirely unexpected?

In 1984, seventeen-year-old Rose and her fiancé discover an injured girl with no memory. The girl, Jordan, is in Rose’s life for a brief time but leaves her world shattered.

Years later, Rose Crosby’s fifteen-year-old daughter Ginny can’t understand why her relationship with her mother has fallen apart. Ginny could swear that Rose is terrified of her lately.

Then one terrible day, Ginny overhears Rose confessing that she truly is terrified of Ginny—because to her, every day Ginny grows more and more like Jordan, the girl who's been dead many years. In fact, she swears that somehow, Ginny is turning into Jordan.

Is Ginny’s mom insane? Is there a ghost in their house, threatening to possess Ginny? Or is the demon in Rose's past, forcing her to confront what happened on that horrible day in 1984 when Jordan was killed? 

My review:

A must-know page turner.

It hurt when I had to set this book down. It’s not a quick read...just a heads up.

Jordan’s Shadow is a YA mystery paranormal thriller that will glue readers of all ages to their favorite reading chairs. I thought I had the mystery pretty well sewn up—and then Grant would take me back in time and prove me wrong. I’m the kind of reader who normally reads the end when I think I’m right, but this is one book where I didn’t skip and I was glad I didn’t.

This multi-generational dysfunctional family drama will make you cheer and boo until the last curtain. The lingering question of mental illness keeps the reader on her toes with the question of who do you trust when the story of deaths in the family begin to appear. I loved the paranormal aspect of moving through time and I got a kick out of mulling the questions that remain.

Well-done sophomore book from talented author Robin Johns Grant. Great characterization, terrific setting and dialog. Told from the viewpoints of Ginny and her mother back and forth between twenty-five years, Jordan’s Shadow will keep you reading. Recommended for those who like family dramas, teen angst, faith-based YA with a twist of fantasy.

About the author:

While waiting for her writing to pay off, Robin Johns Grant did a lot of crazy fan stuff and was way too involved with books and movies like Harry Potter and Star Wars, which helped her dream up Jeanine and Jamie for Summer's Winter.

With a degree in English and a mid-life crisis coming on, she returned to school and earned a master's degree in library and information science. She now has her best day job ever as a college librarian, which keeps her young by allowing her to hang out with students.

Robin was named 2014 Author of the Year by the Georgia Association of College Stores, and Summer's Winter won a bronze medal in the Romance - Suspense category of the International Readers' Favorite Book Awards.

Robin lives in Georgia with her wonderful husband Dave and formerly feral felines Mini Pearl and Luna. She is also surprised to find herself part owner of a sweet pit bull puppy named Pete who showed up as a stray at her mom's house.