Shadow School #1: Archimancy

Written by J. A. White

Narrated by Kim Mai Guest

From the acclaimed author of Nightbooks and The Thickety comes a spooky series, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Gidwitz, and Stranger Things!

Cordelia Liu knew Shadow School was going to be different. Still, she didn’t expect the school grounds to be filled with ghosts.

Cordelia soon realizes she’s not the only one who can see the ghosts; her new friend Benji can too. Together with super-smart Agnes, the trio are determined to find out why the ghosts are there, and whether there’s a way to set them free.

But the school was created with more sinister intentions, and someone is willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the ghosts remain trapped forever.

Check out the book that School Library Journal called a “delightful blend of friendship, suspense, and spectral sightings [that] belongs on most shelves!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
• Release date: Aug 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062966230

J. A. White

J. A. White is the author of the Thickety series, the Shadow School series, Nightbooks, and Gravebooks. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, three sons, and the ghost of their hamster, Ophelia. When he’s not making up stories, he teaches a bunch of kids how to make up stories. He wishes dragons were real because it would be a much cooler way to get to work. You can visit him online at jawhitebooks.com.

Reviews for Shadow School #1

[Delaram Mirshamsi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds me so much of the City of Bones storyline. Looking forward to the rest of the story ?

[Alice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To me it was perfect for the kind of story that I expected and wanted. It was atmospheric and the friendship and how it developed were great. And it packed an emotional punch as well. I'm very curious about the next volume.

[bookbrig-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this back when we could still visit schools, for one of our 6th grade visits. I remember that I liked the characters quite a bit, and I thought the premise was very fun/a good fit for our kids who want scary but not TOO scary. Unfortunately, I've forgotten LITERALLY everything else about it. I can't even remember my booktalk! Good choice for 6th graders, I guess?

[kiaya40 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved and enjoyed this a lot. It was the perfect light and cozy spooky type of read yet it also has deep meaning, great themes and lessons in it as well. It's the first book in what I think will be an amazing Middle-Grade series and the more I read and check into MG books, the more I think that MG is sometimes being overlooked and shouldn't be. Middle Grade is a gold mine with lots of hidden gems in it and this is one of them that had me feeling very satisfied, happy and left with warm fuzzies.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series. Also J. A. White is a fantastic author, I keep falling in love with all his stories and books. If you haven't read this book or any books by J. A. White then you'd better go check his books out!