Name: Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows
Item: Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows
Rating: 5
Author: Arslan Abdul Ghaffar

Must read 🏆

Captivating and imaginative, Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows by Lassiter Williams is a must-read for young readers.

Synopsis

All 11-year-old Cody Seltzer wants is to be normal. But his tattooed. skate-board-riding, movie-quoting parents have other ideas. In fact, his entire city neighborhood likes to fly the freak flag extra high. Until one day Cody discovers something terrifying: creeping shadows are making bad things happen all over his neighborhood – vandalized graffiti art, uprooted squatters’ gardens, and disrupted neighborhood parties. All of the adults seem deeply distracted by a fun video game challenge while their neighbors are quietly selling out and leaving. Cody fears he is the only one who can see the shadows, so it is up to him to save his neighborhood, his friends and his family, but he must overcome his fears to join forces with the weirdest of the weird in stopping the craziness in his freaky neighborhood.

The story of 11-year-old Cody Seltzer, who in Lassiter Williams' Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows must stop the evil shadows from wreaking havoc on his neighborhood, is inventive and thought-provoking.

Cody Seltzer, our protagonist, is a likeable everyman who longs for normalcy. His tattooed, skateboarding parents and his odd best buddy, Zeke, set him apart from the other kids in his West Adelphia neighborhood. In the beginning of the novel, Cody and his pals are excited about going trick-or-treating. However, things take a dark turn when Cody learns that something is amiss in his neighborhood. Squatters' gardens are being destroyed and vandalized by shadowy figures, while the grownups seem preoccupied with a new video game challenge.

As the plot develops, Cody learns that the shadowy figures are part of a covert corporate takeover and that Mara Corp. poses a danger to the local companies. Beyond this business struggle, however, the novel delves into issues of individuality and defiance in the face of societal pressures to blend in.

Williams does a wonderful job putting the reader in Cody's shoes. The fact that Cody has synesthesia, in which he can sense colors and forms, enriches the narrative in interesting ways. The dark consuming the light and color is described in dramatic detail.

The novel has excellent character development, and each of the main characters is distinct and easy to remember. The bond between Cody and his brother Wyatt is complex, and his friendship with Zeke is endearing.

The novel moves quickly enough and has an interesting enough plot to keep the reader interested. The story's finale, in which Cody and his pals work together to preserve their community, is exciting and fulfilling.

Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows is an innovative and well-written tale that delves on the importance of being yourself in a society that promotes uniformity. Middle school students will love the book because of its likable characters, interesting settings, and engaging narrative.

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Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows

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