Review: Shadows of Sherwood

Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon
Grade: C
Release date: August 4, 2015
This e-galley was provided by Bloomsbury USA Children's in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: The night her parents disappear, twelve-year-old Robyn Loxley must learn to fend for herself. Her home, Nott City, has been taken over by a harsh governor, Ignomus Crown. After fleeing for her life, Robyn has no choice but to join a band of strangers-misfit kids, each with their own special talent for mischief. Setting out to right the wrongs of Crown's merciless government, they take their outlaw status in stride. But Robyn can't rest until she finds her parents. As she pieces together clues from the night they disappeared, Robyn learns that her destiny is tied to the future of Nott City in ways she never expected.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Well that was...something. Shadows of Sherwood was a book with which I had to suspend a lot of disbelief. These were kids (Robyn's twelve, Key is said to be a year or two older, Laurel's younger than Robyn), and they're pulling off grand heists with very few problems. There's also lots of discussions about moon lore and a prophecy and all of that was confusing and felt a bit disjointed in the plot. 
I loved the idea of another genderbent Robin Hood retelling, especially one with a biracial protagonist. Speaking of Robyn being biracial, there's a weird moment towards the end of the book where something connected with the moon lore becomes a metaphor for the color of her skin and it left a weird taste in my mouth.
The other characters didn't interest me too much. Key seemed almost like a love interest, although he never was. I did like Scarlet, but I don't remember how old she is and her computer and technological skills were a bit unbelievable. The point-of-view jumps between Robyn and the Sheriff didn't work well for me. Their only purpose was to share information that Robyn could've learned herself later on.

The Verdict: Kind of fun, but a bit slow-going and there were weird plot threads.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Probably not.