This was our first Prose & Paperbacks Book Club pick of 2024 - thanks to everyone who read along with us! Overall, I think this book was  well-written but not what I expected. I was expecting the plot to be heavy on the science fiction and implications of the double shadows. Instead, I found that the element of the additional shadows for felons was used for as a catalyst for themes of grief and parenthood and love. 

I liked a number of the themes and questions the book brought about, and it left plenty of room for exploration and introspection, but I think this was done to a fault. Some concepts, like the exoskeletons, the child not having a name, and the shadows themselves, seemed prime to touch on themes and posit introspective questions, but it never really got there in any capacity. This was really disappointing to me. If you're going to skim over the sci-fi dystopian elements in lieu of literary commentary, go all the way!

In the end, I'm glad I read this. I didn't think it was a bad book per se, just not what I went in expecting. I'd read more from the author but would probably take further synopses with a grain of salt.