Polly Parker has waited 14 years to meet her shadow and learn the six secrets that are prophesied to save the world from ancient evil bloodlines That goal cost her grandparents their lives but idyllic Higher Realm School promises Polly a safe place to discover the coveted higher knowledge or so she thinks It s not long before danger finds her and Polly and her friends must work together to outwit those who want to keep the secrets hidden Fate also may play a role as a curious outcome while separating from her shadow leaves Polly questioning everything In Polly Parker Meets Her Shadow each thought can be made real holographic adventures can be deadly and personal bravery can create a destiny generations in the making Polly Parker Meets Her Shadow Secrets of the Shadow Polly Parker captures your attention quickly as she seeks to uncover the six secrets covered by her shadow This story is full of figurative language enough to please any language arts teacher in the classroom and a theme that allows the option for interactive conversation Her adventures are sure to engage even the most discerning student Teachers take notice of Polly Parker Meets Her Shadow Paperback Polly Parker is excited when she wakes up on her fourteenth birthday Today is a big day for her not only because it s her birthday but it s her Separation day Separation is a rite of passage granted to anyone fourteen or older It s a procedure performed on the individual to sort the light and the dark within them The dark will become her visible shadow and getting to know your shadow is one of the scariest things you ll ever do in your life When her parents take her to the New Heights Separation Center she s nervous about the unknown but also excited to perform this rite of passage finally Choosing the Separation procedure is the only way you can find the six secrets that everyone would like to eventually achieve for themselves In doing so each secret helps you conquer your bad things that exist within your shadow Your ultimate goal is to eventually not have a shadow any The nurse starts the procedure and it goes off without a hitch Or so they think Polly realizes she feels something burning on her right forearm Her skin now has a brownish red patch which was never there before and feels tough to the touch The nurse has fear in her eyes but can t figure out what exactly went wrong during the procedure that she has performed for over twenty years Polly leaves with her parents assured there s nothing to worry about. Polly now has to not only adjust to having a shadow but also learn what this brownish red patch really means for her specifically She s excited though because not only does she now have her own shadow but she also qualifies to attend the Higher Realm School of Exploration and Reintegration In this magical school she will learn how to prepare herself to be an educated adult while she works at finding the six Master Skills AKA Six Secrets which will help her reintegrate her shadow back into herself again When you find each secret your shadow begins to breakdown and turns from bad to good in different stages Just like every new student at school Polly has to deal with learning the ropes of the new school studying hard to pass her courses and she has to deal with bullies that want her to be unsuccessful with her reintegration Does Polly ever find out what the brownish red patch is on her forearm How many of the six secrets does she find Is she able to start making her shadow reintegrate into herself Opinion I absolutely loved this first book in the Secrets of the Shadow series The characters were so believable that I felt they were real people I could reach out and touch I developed feelings for Polly and her friends and I wanted them to be able to succeed in each of their reintegration transitions Ms Lowery created her characters to be believable to her readers that you forget your reading a work of fiction I found myself feeling as if Polly and her friends were friends of mine as well In addition I was so invested into this story that I believed I was seeing feeling and experiencing things as if I was another character hoping to find my own six secrets. The concepts of this mystical realm each person lived in and their shadows being the dark traits of each of them were beyond imaginary Honestly I felt this whole story was a complimentary nod to the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise and honestly I would love to see this book turned into a movie as well It had its own unique flair and children as well as adults alike will find themselves falling in love with the characters and storyline. Another thing I just adored was that each student was able to adopt an animal of their own that became theirs These small animals all had magical abilities that complemented their new owner I found this to be a sweet concept especially since the children were fourteen entering the Higher Realm School of Exploration and Reintegration and leaving their family homes to live at school with all new people they had to get to know I felt having these animals not only helped them acclimate to living on a school campus but they also were their companion animals with their own unique abilities They helped the kids get themselves out of any kind of situation they might have found themselves in. On a final note if I had to pick out one place on the school s campus that I loved where the characters went there to spend time together it would definitely be the hologram room This room was so spectacular The teens could go there to play video games with each other and even travel to other destinations without even leaving their seats The technological aspect of this story was just as enjoyable as the story itself Overall I found Polly Parker Meets Her Shadow a story that children and adults like myself will thoroughly enjoy This is the first book in the Secrets of the Shadow series and I am eagerly awaiting to see what happens to Polly and her friends starting their third year at the Higher Realm School of Exploration and Reintegration Well done Ms Lowery Paperback This book was a fabulous read and took me into a wonderful realm of magical realism I enjoyed the teachings and lessons it gave during Polly s pursuit of the six secrets ego the power of thought manifesting abundance judgement and gratitude just to name a few It was truly inspiring to follow along as Polly found her path and purpose after reintegration school Paperback Loved this super sweet fun book Excited for Polly to find all the secrets and learn along with her can t wait for Paperback