The Shadow Club Rising [Paperback]

Neal Shusterman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers (2002)
• ASIN: B000O6LQH6
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and Downsiders, which was nominated for twelve state reading awards. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows such as Animorphs and Goosebumps. The father of four children, Neal lives in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware The Shadow Club and Your Past--it could haunt you., March 4, 2002

By 

sharon lawrence (Downers Grove) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Club Rising (Hardcover)

Having not read The Shadow Club (1988), I found this sequel able to stand on its own. In October, Jared and the six other members of the Shadow Club were suspended when the school discovered the devious doings of the Shadow Club--kids who were always second best in the student body.

It's February now, and Jared has changed his ways. The problem is no one believes him. When Alec Smartz ("It was one of those cruel parental jokes a that would be an eternal mystery. But then on the other hand, it was so obvious that only a moron who try to take advantage of it. Whenever someone called him "Smart Alec," he would say .... 'Gee that's clever...'") comes to school and is perfect at everything, the student body takes note.

Practical jokes start to plague Alec, and all fingers point to Jared. Jared tries to re-convene the Shadow Club in an effort to find the source of these attacks but the six other members want to stay as far away from their previous deeds. Jared is on his own. As the practical jokes get worse and worse, Jared discovers that sometimes telling the truth isn't enough. The Shadow Club has taken on a life of its own.

I don't want to give away the important aspects of the story, so I will jump past the exciting and surprise ending and say that I found "Shadow Club Rising" a great and believable story. Many authors would have gone over the top and made this a tall tale, but Shusterman respects his characters. I love books that feature mean kids at this age level. It is so much a part of the daily life of a junior high student. The relationship Jared has with his guidance counselor is credible. It's good to see adults who aren't caricatures.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shadow Club Rising (Paperback)

I thought this book was great. It was much better than the original Shadow Club and is filled with suspense. Sometimes it may seem violent but it was pretty good. I would reccomend this to anyone who liked read the original Shadow Club or just likes stories filled with suspense.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try SHADOW CLUB for reluctant readers, June 2, 2008

By 

Dusty Poet Books (North Canton, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Shadow Club Rising (Paperback)

As an English professor and an avid reader, it's been a source of distress that one of my grandchildren doesn't like to read. He is fast-paced and doesn't like to slow down long enough to read; like so many of my students, he'll "wait for the movie." Recently he told me that his class at school had been reading THE SHADOW CLUB and that he had been reading ahead because he loved it. I bought it for him on the spot and purchased THE SHADOW CLUB RISING, the sequel, and two other books by Shusterman as well. He was excited to have them and has told me at length what he likes about the books: the constant action and drama, the characters sympathetic to his age group (11), etc. I thank Neal Shusterman for turning my grandson on to reading at long last!