A Skinful of Shadows

Product Information

So here we are, with a new release, fresh off the presses, straight into my greedy hands. And just like every one of her books before this, I was transported into a world of wonders. At the 2015 Costa Book of the Year Awards she won the children’s book of the year award as well the overall prize for her novel The Lie Tree. Ingeniously infusing a Victorian era crime murder mystery with fantasy elements, its teenage heroine Faith finds herself also grappling with the Darwinian struggle between science and religion. A Skinful of Shadows was published in 2017.

A Skinful of Shadows - Historical Association A Skinful of Shadows - Historical Association

This is one of the best feel-good books you will ever read and is highly recommended to all fans of books with ghosts. 3) Remember Me by Christopher Pike In Remember Me by author Christopher Pike, the central character of the book Shari Cooper is herself a ghost. Although initially she has to come to terms with her new condition considering she just woke up one day and realized things were not quite right. A Skinful of Shadows is yet another beautiful, multi-layered novel by one of the brightest stars in the YA sky. Highly, highly recommended. During the First English Civil War, Makepeace lives with her mother in a Puritan village close to London. When her mother dies in a riot between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists, she is sent to live with her deceased father's relatives in Grizehayes, a fictional fortress in the north of England. Makepeace has the inherited trait that allows her to store the spirits of recently deceased people or animals inside herself, like the rest of her father's family. The elders at Grizehayes store the spirits of their notable deceased family members inside living vessels. Discovering that her relatives keep her alive purely as a spare vessel for the spirits, she flees to Oxford and becomes entangled in the conflict of the war herself.Perhaps in response to the Puritan elements in the story, Hardinge’s language in this novel is less elaborate than it has been, resulting in a cleaner, sharper diction. There are many wonderful moments that have the unmistakable Hardinge tang. Makepeace accidentally absorbs the ghost of a bear, symbolising both the uncontrollable id that she must subdue and the violence threatening to tear apart the country in “surprising zigzags”. She develops a deep rapport with her beastly fellow traveller, but often it’s “like reasoning with a thundercloud”. I would give this story 5 stars for its exhilarating storyline, sudden plot twists and amazing detail. This story by Frances Hardinge has made me want to find out more about the the English Civil War with Parliament against King Charles I and read more historical fiction stories. It has also made me want to read more books by Frances Hardinge because I thoroughly enjoyed this story. My favourite part of the book was when the main character becomes bonded to the ghost of the bear and they become friends. There is a good use of adventurous language and normally when I read a book I can imagine the surroundings and make up what I think it would look like but with this book nothing is left the the imagination because everything is described so well I feel like I'm there. This book was so enjoyable and gripping! I felt as though I was living in the story, everything felt so real! It was set during the civil war in the 1640s. this was a period I had learnt about in school but the story entwined perfectly. It was interesting how people's jobs were affected by their gender and that people who changed sides in the war could be called a traitor. This is probably one of the best novels I have read! I fell in love with the language and the story. I would love a sequel to come out. (Score: 5/5)

A skinful of shadows : Hardinge, Frances, author : Free A skinful of shadows : Hardinge, Frances, author : Free

This time we are in the mid-17th century England, in the middle of the English Civil War between the King and the Parliament, the Puritans and the Royalists. ( “Give a man a sword and pistol,’ said Helen, ‘and leave him hungry for a few weeks, and everybody will start to look like the enemy.”) Young Makepeace Lightfoot, a daughter of a single mother in a Puritan village, learns early on to guard herself against ghosts who, as everyone knows, are aiming to invade you and set shop in your head. After losing her mother in London riots, she is taken in by her father’s rich family as a servant — and perhaps as something else, something more and infinitely terrifying.The story of the 'bear hearted girl' is a thrilling tale involving ghosts, family and betrayal. Makepeace is a girl who doesn't know her real name or even her father. When troubling dreams disturb Makepeace's sleep her mother sends her to a graveyard and this is how the story starts. I believe that the book is very enjoyable. However it contains little historical references which I see as a let down as 'A Skinful of Shadows' has been entered in a history competition. The book can be slightly confusing at the beginning, but you slowly start to feel for the book and its characters. Although the book focuses on a strange, confusing theme the book is definitely worth reading and opens your mind to how we treat animals and each other. In light of this I think that Frances Hardinge has created a beautiful book that should definitely be read and cherished.

A Skinful of Shadows Novel Study *Updated | Teaching Resources A Skinful of Shadows Novel Study *Updated | Teaching Resources

However, things always don’t turn out that way and it is tough to convince a spirit to move on once they have been murdered or their death are a complete mystery. This doesn’t mean that the fantasy aspects are less significant though – and in here, the side of fantastical is no less elaborate: in fact, it serves the larger plot and it is essential in the formation of Makepeace’s arc. The former lies in the way that the fate of the Fellmotes is intermingled with that of the country and how their actions play a part in the dispute between Parliament and the King. The latter, in how Makepace’s character develops, grows, transforms herself into a courageous young woman. If there is one thing that connects all of the author’s works is this: the principled, strong-willed, dynamic and fierce heroines she creates. Makepeace might not know whose side should be victor in this war, but she never wavers from righting wrongs and she will fight tooth and … claws to save the life of her brother and the lives of those she thinks deserve a second chance. Here is the story of a girl whose mind can be inhabited by ghosts - a family characteristic of the aristocratic Fellmottes, and one highly prized in both its heirs and bastards (who are not so much expendable as...harvestable). One of the latter, Makepeace grows up unaware of her connection to the family, knowing only that she suffers from nightmares, that she senses bad things in cemeteries, that her mother has secrets. Later on in the book she finds out about a brother she did not know she had and they go on all sorts of adventures together. A spirit finds its way into her mind and she battles to keep it hidden because she fears what would happen if someone was to find out. As well as keeping this huge secret she still manages to live an almost regular life of a girl her age. Makepeace, the main character, faces many challenges in the book put pulls through and reaches her goals. Her and her spirit companion stay together until the end of the book and have a long lasting beautiful friendship built on love and trust. A Skinful of Shadows is the story of a girl. The story of a country in the throes of Civil War. The way these two stories intersect and diverge from one another. It’s a story about a brother and a sister, a mother and a daughter, a girl who needs to grow up. It has a unique found family, one bear, female spies, ghosts and terrible villains. It is above all, a story about trust and having faith in people.He’s no better than the other Fellmottes. Another rich man bent on what he thinks the world owes him, and willing to pay any price, as long as it’s in the blood of others.” Like in the The Lie Tree Hardinge brings this historical period to intricate life, but not without keeping the story suspenseful as Makepeace's family are revealed in their full horrific detail. Her journey is an interesting one for YA in that the issue is not so much about defining her identity, but the much more basic one of whether she is entitled to an identity separate from that of her family at all.

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge | Goodreads A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge | Goodreads

A deliciously sinister read full of mayhem and menace. Frances Hardinge is a very powerful and poetic writer – weaving a very dark and magical tale to entrance and enthral her readers. Over the years, I have made no secret of my adoration for the novels of Frances Hardinge. I wait for every single one of them with bated breath, knowing that wherever the author decides to take me, it will be a journey worth following. of the Best Supernatural Fantasy Books for Tweens | SpookShelf on The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Review The intriguing and imaginative world of Everlost explores the middle-realm of afterlife and is filled with captivating characters, plotlines and adventure. 7) Haunted by Kelley Armstrong We are given an intriguing balancing act of well-researched historical detail surrounding the English civil war and a whimsical, sometimes dark, ghost story. It was such an earthy, autumnal read and getting to experience this book while the leaves were falling outside my window was so incredibly cozy and nostalgic.There's no real reason A Skinful of Shadows needed to have an identity crisis. Set during the English civil war, our horror story is the focus, but certainly our characters are affected by the battle events around them. Which was all well and good until our lead gal ends up caught up in a scheme that will benefit one side of the war. While it gets our characters away from certain situations this interlude of smuggling, spies, infantry movements and battlement sieges is just dull. Instead of having an engaging reason to care, and partially because our lead gal doesn't care who wins, I just couldn't bring myself to feel any passion about the war or whose side wins or losses. The reality is there are many books with ghosts in them that are not scary at all. They all have engrossing plotlines and read like any other good paranormal fantasy. These books have equal number of fans who want to enjoy the paranormal but do not want the usual scare, blood and gore.