The voices are loudest when it’s dark.They haven’t stopped bothering Jared ever since his sister was murdered. The voices ruin his life, constantly egging him on, making him get into fights and do things he knows he shouldn’t.His second time through the ninth grade a mysterious green-eyed girl named Sadie reaches out, giving Jared hope that he can finally quiet the voices and bring his life back under control. Sadie and her friends give Jared a new set of voices to listen to, teaching him the truth about what he is—a Shade who draws immeasurable power from the whispering shadows. Although learning about Shadowtalent helps him push away some of the darkness in his life, what Jared’s shadow eventually makes him do haunts him.Every Shade does something they regret.After Sadie gets beat up in a schoolyard fight, Jared and his shadow seek revenge, beating the school bully within an inch of his life. When Jared ultimately refuses his shadow’s urgings to kill, his darker half abandons him, leaving him free of the shadows and the power they grant. At first, Jared naively believes he can lead a normal life without the nagging voices and the dark influence of his shadow. Unfortunately, Jared’s actions gain the attention of the merciless Shadowcouncil who place a bounty on his head.Disappointed in Jared, but still believing in him, Sadie tries to buy time from the Shadowcouncil so Jared can reconcile with his shadow and make up for what he has done. In his search for redemption, Jared learns the truth about his sister’s death. Stepping out of the darkness, Jared must learn to trust the new voices in his life, or he risks losing his shadow and his Talent forever…not to mention his own life.
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