Book Review: Summer's Shadow by Anna Wilson

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books; Unabridged edition (3 July 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1447241819
• ISBN-13: 978-1447241812
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When Summer's mom died, her life is turned upside down

Summer's mother's will states that Summer's legal guardian is her uncle Tristan: a man Summer has never even heard of before. Forced to leave her life in London, Summer moves to Tristan's creepy, ancient house in Cornwall. There she is met with indifference from him, open hostility from her cousin, and an aunt who has chosen to leave rather than to tolerate her presence. Soon Summer comes to believe that the house may be haunted. But is it haunted by ghosts, or by the shadows of her family's past? Scared and lonely, Summer begins to spend more and more time in the beautiful sheltered cove she discovers nearby. But she's not alone. A local boy frequents it too. Can Summer find first love and the answers to the mysteries of her new home with this good-looking boy who appears to be too perfect to be true?

When Summer’s mother dies, her will states that Summer would live with family she has never met before in Cornwall. Her Uncle Tristan seems anxious and doesn’t know how to deal with Summer. Her cousin Kenan goes out of his way to be mean and her aunt has moved out of the house. 

As if losing her mother wasn’t bad enough, now Summer has to leave behind her home, friends and normal life. Nothing is the same in Cornwall. Her family behave so strangely and she can’t even get a signal on her mobile phone. But that’s not all. Summer is haunted by strange occurrences that started with a phone call at the exact minute her mother died. Now there is a white cat that appears to Summer alone. 

Summer begins exploring the nearby beach she has discovered, and stumbles upon a secret cove. It is in the cove she meets local boy Zach, who seems to be the only person capable of pulling Summer out of her grief.

Summer’s Shadow was a good read, but perhaps at the younger end of the YA spectrum. 

Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for the review copy.