The Colour of Shadows was a quick yet thought provoking read, which overall I enjoyed.
What started off as seemingly a straightforward young adult book dealing with issues concerning the family and friendship quickly became much more, with wider social consideration taken. This initially confused me, as you are drawn in to lead character Saffron's personal situation, but then discover that it's not really all about her.
I would say that I didn't find Saffron a particularly enthralling lead character - she comes across as quite selfish and self-absorbed (very much a stereotypical difficult teenager) and as the story moves beyond just her situation I did think it lost more personability too.
However, taken in its wider context, Shrimpton does begin to effectively raise important questions about the issue of homelessness. I'd have just liked it to have gone that little bit further - in covering both Saffron's story, and then the homeless community, for me it lacked a little depth in both areas.
What started off as seemingly a straightforward young adult book dealing with issues concerning the family and friendship quickly became much more, with wider social consideration taken. This initially confused me, as you are drawn in to lead character Saffron's personal situation, but then discover that it's not really all about her.
I would say that I didn't find Saffron a particularly enthralling lead character - she comes across as quite selfish and self-absorbed (very much a stereotypical difficult teenager) and as the story moves beyond just her situation I did think it lost more personability too.
However, taken in its wider context, Shrimpton does begin to effectively raise important questions about the issue of homelessness. I'd have just liked it to have gone that little bit further - in covering both Saffron's story, and then the homeless community, for me it lacked a little depth in both areas.