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.
Cody takes us on a Halloween adventure….lots of shadows, some unintentional and creepy….some shadows clarifying the light. Lassiter Williams’ imagination and creative writing develop the characters of the Adelphi neighborhood giving each person a colorful identity…some cool, some bizarre. The author draws the reader in to a struggle of dark and light. She keeps the reader hopeful amidst an undercurrent theme of ‘Flow power.’ The reader will learn about ‘boogersnarf’ and ‘very small Wookiee’ and a video game turning people into automatons. A book geared to teenage readers, “Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows” is intriguing all ages. Cody is at once the universal young person trying to find his way AND a unique hero with those admirable characteristics we strive to own. This young adult book engages adult readers as well as youngsters with its imaginative and creative storyline as well as its message about commitment, making the world a better place, and that timeless lesson: things aren't always as they might seem. Cody Seltzer and the Creeping Shadows is a perfect choice for a parent-child or classroom read aloud. The questions, possibilities, and discussion will be rewarding and wonderful! It’s a swirl of (literal) colorful adjectives, even more (metaphorical) colorful personalities, and a message of how important it is to honor weirdness and the creative magic that abounds in myriad ways. I was captivated with this story from day one, and recommend it for everyone to read, not just young adults. It’s a swirl of (literal) colorful adjectives, even more (metaphorical) colorful personalities, and a message of how important it is to honor weirdness and the creative magic that abounds in myriad ways. I was captivated with this story from day one, and recommend it for everyone to read, not just young adults. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Cody and his friends have a wide range of personalities and talents, interacting with the story and each other in creative ways. I loved Cody’s use of color descriptors and how he relates to the story in artistic ways. The plot was was complex, twisty, and fun to follow along on the adventure.
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