Shawdowcry By Jenna Burtenshaw

Shadowcry is the first published book in the U.S. of the Wintercraft series. The next book knowingly published is Blackwatch. Jenna Burtenshaw is a fairly new writer, but she does an outstanding job at descriptions. Even though her writing can get increasingly confusing, in the end of each chapter the plot is easier to conceive. Overall, the writing is wonderful!

The prologue starts out with a women eagerly standing over a freshly dug open grave. Her apprentice being badgered to quicken the task. When he finally gets the top free of dirt and mud, the woman orders him to open the lid of the casket. He is afraid of the consequences, thus resulting in the woman to open it herself. She found what she has been searching for, for a while now. It was an old leather-bound book. On the cover it reads, WINTERCRAFT. The first page clearly states, "The ways of Wintercraft are not for the careless, the arrogant, nor the unwise. You hold now a book of instructions that , if followed, shall allow the fearless mind to go beyond the boundaries of this world and step without restraint into the mysteries of another. Keep it safe. Keep it secret. And follows its words with care. This path is more dangerous than you can know."

Morvane a large town in Albion had been interrupted in more than ten years. Last time the wardens came through town, fifteen year old Kate had lost her parents. They were wanted by the wardens to fight in their army. Kate was forced to live with her closest relative, Artemis Winters. Uncle Artemis was the owner of the family business, a bookstore.

The Night of Souls was quickly approaching. This was a well known holiday where it was believed that the veil between the living and dead was at it's thinnest. Thus being the best time for the wardens to raid the city. Their only goal was to capture the Skilled. The Skilled were special. They were rare people that could cross the veil between life and death.

One day, Kate was awoken especially early by her loving uncle. She had no clue why until he explained to her that Morvane was most populated and that he theorized that the wardens would be approaching soon. They had to leave that morning. While packing, Kate hears a THUD on the window. Her uncle says not to investigate and just go straight down to the cellar. She doesn't listen. The crow seems to be dead so Kate picks it up, trying to help it. Crows keep diving into the windows and killing themselves. In all this chaos, Edgar, an employee of the store, shows up to make sure everything is okay.

All three descend into the cellar. Kate realizes the crow still in the pocket of her robe is gently moving. How is this happening? The bird broke his neck on impact with the window. Artemis knows what this means. Kate is one of the Skilled. Making her the most wanted girl in all Albion.

Silas Dane was the most powerful man in Albion. He had even been killed before. How is he alive? No one knows. But you can't kill someone that is already dead. Silas needs Kate. He knows that she lives in this town. He knows where she lives. She's his first priority. Silas stalks the bookstore. When the crow flies out of the chimney, it gives him confirmation on her location.

After crawling into a small closet with Edgar, Kate hears her uncle being brutally hit. The wardens want her location but he refuses to admit that anyone else lives with him. Silas kidnaps Artemis and burns down the bookstore. The two crammed into the closet begin to lose clean air. Edgar freaks out, but Kate has a plan. Her uncle was right to lock them into this small closet.

Shawdowcry is a great book! The overall plot is very complicated and complex, that should most likely be read by teenagers and older. You can tell each character apart by the situations that they're in! It's really convenient that each one has very different personalities. You can tell what they're next move may be, because of their overall though process that is so easily described out to the reader. I would recommend this book to anyone that can perceive it's complexity! I give Shawdowcry a solid A-.