The Shadow Girl by Jennifer Archer

The Shadow Girl by Jennifer Archer
"For as long as Lily Winston can remember, she has never been alone. Iris, a shadowy figure who mimics Lily's movements and whispers in her ear, is with her always -- but invisible to the rest of the world. Iris is Lily's secret. But when Lily's father is killed in a tragic accident, his cryptic final words suggest that he and Lily's mother have been hiding secrets of their own. Suddenly, Iris begins pushing Lily more than ever, possessing her thoughts and urging her to put together the pieces of a strange puzzle her father left behind. As she searches for answers, Lily finds herself drawn to Ty Collier, a mysterious new boy in town. Together, Lily and Ty must untangle a web of deception to discover the truth about her family, Iris -- and Lily's own identity."- summary from Amazon

WOW. I really enjoyed this book and didn't see the twist coming. Archer has written a fantastically creepy, suspenseful read. It's a fairly slow book though, building up to the climax steadily. What kept me going was Lily's voice and the need to figure out who Iris was.

I also liked Lily's interactions with Ty and seeing that relationship develop and also seeing her friendship with Wyatt and how Ty's presence created a rift between them. Watching Lily's mom do a little descent into madness (or is it?) was an interesting aspect to see too.

Overall, a really well-written sophomore YA effort from Archer- let's hope a third book doesn't take so long to release!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.