| Shadow Baby by Alison McGhee is the story of an eleven year old Cora winter (yes, spelled with a lower case w) and a special friendship that develops with Georg Kominsky, a local elderly immigrant. Coral is not an ordinary eleven year old, she believes that "a girl of eleven is more than the sum of her age". When she decides to question Georg for an oral history project, a surogate grandfather/father relatioship develops. Georg Kominsky is a man of few words and woven throughout the novel, is Clara's imaginative musings about what kind of life he has led. Another storyline that develops is the question of Cora's own history---who are her father and grandfather and what are the circumstances around her infant twin sister's death. Unwilling to fill in those gaps is her mother, Tamar.
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Family, struggle with Yes Struggle with: - Mother (or standin) Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Coping with loss of loved one(s) Yes Loss of... Age group of kid(s) in story: - grade school Main Character Gender - Female Age: - 40's-50's Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast Mountains/Cliffs Yes Small town? Yes Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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