I've seen this book on several blogs and finally purchased it. The idea that you could put on a pair of spectacles and go through a picture was an idea that really fascinated me. It must have fascinated the main character in this book. Olive Dunwoody and her parents have always lived in apartments. Now her parents have purchased an old victorian style house. As mathematicians they have fallen in love with all of the antiques in the house. They don't care that the previous owner died there. Olive, alone most of the time, spends her time going through the old things in the house. She is drawn to the strange pictures that line the wall. She finds it strange that the pictures are so connected to the walls it is as if they have grown out of them. When she finds the strange spectacles and puts them on she realizes the pictures come to life. That isn't the only strange thing about them. When she leans in too close to get a closer look she actually starts to go through the pictures. Entering the first one she meets and young boy named Morton. Morton seems whiny and frightened. Olive feels someone or something is watching her and everyone she meets in the paintings tell her that "He" is watching. Can Olive find out who "He" is, what he wants and stop him before it's too late? I really loved this book. It was so worth the wait. I can't wait to recommend this to my students. This is just the first book in a series of four or five. I look forward to reading all of them. ( )

Books of Elsewhere Shadows starts out in a compelling way, and Olive makes for a fantastic character. Jacqueline West does well to portray our young protagonist as a strong minded individual and not just an immature naive child.



When Olive is forced to move into a deceased old lady's house that her new neighbours consider weird and whisper about, she doesn't feel she quite fits in anywhere until she discovers a pair of spectacles that allow her to travel into the strange and creepy pictures that seem to be glued to the walls.

What olive doesn't realize is that danger lurks in some of the artworks left by the old lady and soon she ends up struggling to escape.


Shadows is a alright read, I found that after the first few chapters I began to lose interest and eventually put the book down and forgot about it. I didn't find the read to scary and I believe the story itself will appeal to many readers who, unlike me enjoy a good mystery.
I found Jacqueline West's portrayal on Olive's parents quite worrisome as they seem to have little to do with Olive and much more concern with maths, making them very flat and unbelievable.
I did realize the twists to this story early in but as an older reader I find this is to be expected when reading a book aimed towards younger people. ( )

Reminds me a bit of Coraline with its mysterious, near ominous sense of curiosity. It’s a short read, which helped since I wasn’t overly impressed with its storytelling or characters. The cats were cute. If you’re hankering for more Coraline in a series of books to read, this seems a sufficient starter. ( )

Olive can climb into the paintings in the old, creepy house her parents just bought and moved her into. What a fun concept!

I love Olive as a a character. She’s curious and creative and brave and capable and so so smart. She made this book something I would definitely recommend to kids grade 3-ish and up.

Pacing was a little slow with a rush at the end. Still. Great middle grade novel and maybe I’ll even read the second. ( )

This book was such a delightful middle grade read! I picked it up because the plot intrigued me and I must say that I was not disappointed in the slightest. It has a very unique, interesting concept that instantly draws the reader in! I really enjoyed the writing style and plan to pick up the other books in the series soon! ( )