Jess has a secret: a mysterious glass flask she finds in an heirloom desk's hidden compartment. Its surface swirls with iridescent colors, like something's inside, something almost like a song, something with a soul. No one else sees anything under the shifting glass, but Jess is convinced there must be some kind of magic in there. And when her twin brothers are born critically ill, Jess begins to believe that the force within the flask just might hold the key to saving her brothers-and her family.
This is going to be a very difficult book to review because it had it's strengths and I thought this book was fantastic but at the same time some things just didn't seem to click. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, I'm just a sucker for 'double face' covers, and I knew it was middle grade but other than that this was just me diving into it completely blind.
FIrstly, I have to say that I loved the Britishism's in this book, something about it just seemed so subtly British and as a Brit myself I have to say that I really enjoyed picking up on these. I also found Singer's writing absoltely flawless, the prose is lyrical and yet realistic, the plot and the characters seemed so natural and I was so touched by the storyline. There was something really magical about this book, even though the slight bit of fantasy with the shifting glass seemed more like a plot point to support the main issues dealt with in the book. I felt that the issues dealt with were very well-done - Jess is dealing with the death of her great-aunt, as well as the birth of her baby brothers, who are born conjoined, we also ge to see Jess grow a little.
There's quite a bit of spirituality in this book, Jess takes an interest in Buddhism, whih I was a little confused by at times. As well as her way of dealing with her issues in life, which is coincidence - If these snowmen are still here tomorrow, the twins will be okay. The spirituality was original and quite fun to read about but some of the stuff was just plain confusing and a little bizarre, like what happens to souls after someone dies...
Overall, Under Shifting Glass was a deep and enjoyable book but I constantly felt a little disconnected from it, I'm not too sure why.
Overall, Under Shifting Glass was a deep and enjoyable book but I constantly felt a little disconnected from it, I'm not too sure why.
Book released 19th February 2013 by Chronicle Books
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (Edelweiss)
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