The title of this exceptional novel has a double meaning. Summer is the fourteen year old heroine, but the story takes place in the summer too, and the shadow is a real one as well as an emotional one. Summer's mother has just died very suddenly after being hit by a car, and her will specifies that Summer is to live with an uncle and aunt she has never heard of. They live in Cornwall in a mysterious big house by the sea near Penzance. Summer is horrified, and she isn't the only one. When she arrives to be met by her 'uncle' Tristan, there is no aunt to be seen, and their son, Kenan, is actively hostile. When she meets local boy Zach, things begin to look up although life in the big house is still very difficult. Tristan is apologetic but unwilling to explain what the problem is, and if it weren't for Zach and a little white cat who comes at difficult times and comforts Summer, she could not continue living there. There is a supernatural element to the story which some may find difficult but others will find comforting and helpful. Some happenings that seem supernatural through the book turn out not to be, but there does remain this element, completely in keeping with the Cornwall setting and the mysterious old house. The ending is shocking but understandable, and some may well see it coming. Summer's emotions and her overwhelming missing of her single mum are extremely well portrayed, as is her difficulty in accepting other people's sympathy. This is a powerful, hard-to-put-down novel and will be read with real interest by teenagers in general.