“Desert Shadows” is a young-adult horror book.
Two boys explore their lives and surroundings in a way we all would have wanted to: creating stories in your mind, adventure, a treasure hunt! Slowly though, they see themselves locked in a horror spiral. A stranger enters their lives to change them forever.
I’d like to break this story down, because Dowidat provokes in you transforming emotions. In the beginning, it’s a kid’s tale. Two brothers, Caleb and Liam, who spend their free time in the desert, building their own world. Slowly, they enter a true, terrifying horror story. A character who seems to be the key is a sewing element who, staying in the background of the story, puts together all the pieces.
That said, what I loved the most about this book is the paranormal elements. Without revealing anything about the book (I’m one of those readers who want zero spoilers) I can tell you, even being a young adult book, it’s going to chill your spine. The author is an amazing storyteller and his writing is nightmare material. Ethereal (or not that ethereal?) creatures force our protagonists to walk a path coming from Hell itself. Supernatural knowledge is thrown at them, whether they can catch it or not, and very closely with a couple other key characters, slowly, they start understanding the deathly message their new treasures and hunters carry on their shoulders.
Every decision counts, trusting or not every person trying to manipulate (perhaps, to help?) them becomes crucial for their survival and for the entire world’s destiny.
Wonderfully written, at a moderate pace, grabbing your pulse firmly, Dowidat tells you a story of ascendancy and doom. Those kids’ courage is the only barrier standing between the world and its final perdition.
