Sidetrack Bookshop is excited to welcome Meriam Metoui in conversation with Rebecca Mix!
About Portrait of a Shadow
A missing sister. A mysterious boy. And a painting that holds the truth beneath its peeling edge...
Inez is missing, but missing things can always be found.
Mae knows this as a fact, even though the police investigation has come to a standstill, even though her parents are moving on. But when she goes to clear out her older sister’s studio, she finds a mess of research and a white canvas that seems even older than the ornate frame it is set in. The closer Mae gets to the canvas, the more difficult it is to pull her eyes away from its mottled surface, its heavy layers of white paint, its peeling top corner she is tempted to pull to see what’s beneath. But she doesn’t. Not yet.
Mae decides to trace her sister’s last steps in the hopes of finding answers, certain that Inez’s disappearance is related to the painting. And she knows she is desperate enough to let the strange boy who claims to have been Inez’s neighbor tag along. Even if his good looks don't help distract from his avoidance of her questions. So begins a scavenger hunt piecing together what they can find from what Inez left behind. One that leads to centuries-old questions best left unasked and secrets best kept in the dark.
From the author of A Guide to the Dark comes another romantic and eerie mystery about the lengths we are willing to go for the truth and the ones we love.
About Meriam Metoui
Meriam Metoui is the author of Portrait of a Shadow (out July 16th) and A Guide to the Dark, which School Library Journal described in its starred review as “Compelling . . . readers will have trouble putting this one down even for a minute.” Born in Tunisia, she now lives in Detroit, Michigan, with her partner and her puppy. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Hunter College, where she received a master’s degree in English literature. When not writing, she can be found behind a camera, obsessing over a new TV show, or wondering what hidden pockets of magic to write about next.
