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Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee) Yak wants to dance. It’s all she’s ever wanted, and after fighting her mother tooth and nail, finally enrols to the New York School of Ballet. She can eat, breath and live ballet for five days a week, on the proviso that at weekends, she learns everything and anything her mother deems suitable. She’s fluent in Latin, Mandarin and all number of languages. She’s an expert at chess, maths, science and history; but it’s not enough for her mother. When the opportunity for Ceilidh to apprentice with the New York City Ballet, her mother puts her foot down, and realising she’ll never be allowed to follow her dream, Ceilidh runs away.
That’s when her world really turns upside down. Almost literally. She falls asleep on the train as she flees home, and wakes up when her dreams turn dark. Her phone buzzes with an unknown number, telling her to simply “run“. After a mad cap, mind mending chase through pre-dawn New York, fleeing something called a ‘nightrider‘, she takes a leap into the unknown.
At times Born to Shadow dips into a confused narrative. Time ebbs and flows strangely, and huge chunks of Ceilidh’s development seem to get lost in the mix. She suddenly, seems to be only happy to follow the dismembered voice of Skio, although I’m not entirely sure how it got into her head. She seems to have come to terms with her situation relatively quickly, developing her shadow powers with skill and speed. She accepts Skio’s explanation of what is happening and why without seeming to bat an eyelid. Perhaps because of the fact that she’s hurtled into another dimension and seen things no 16 year old from Manhattan should see? Or because she’s always known there’s something more to her; more than her love of dance.
Either way, Born to Shadow is a great read, fast paced and filled with moments that made me laugh and wince in equal measure.
S. A.
This book was reviewed through the Reedsy Discovery ARC Program. You can read the original review here
You can buy Born To Shadow by clicking on the link. You can also read it for free on Kindle Unlimited.