By: Emily Papleux

Shadow and Bone is the first book in the grishaverse, written by Leigh Bardugo, my now favorite author. “Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protégée of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the fold.” At first, I didn’t know much about this book, and the only thing that prompted me to read it was the Announcement of the Netflix re-make. As a new reader, I hadn’t read many YA fantasy’s, or even any books/series with good world building. Beforehand, I had read the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas, but I only liked it because I felt like I was supposed to. But after reading Shadow and Bone, I knew what true admiration for a book felt like, even if I hadn’t read many. At first I was skeptical, but as soon as I read the first few chapters, I was deeply invested in the world-building, the unique plot, and the beautiful writing. 

The world building in this book is phenomenal. Most of the countries are inspired by other areas in real life. For example, Ravka is heavily inspired by Imperial Russia. You can see this in the Language, the Keftas (Clothing), and even the architecture. Even the magic system is something I’ve never seen before. Instead of calling it magic, they call it “The Small Science”. “When the leaves change color, do you call it magic? What about when you cut your hand and it heals? And when you put a pot of water on the stove and it boils, is it magic then?”. There are different orders of Grisha (Masters of The Small Science). Alina belongs in the order of Etherealki (order of the Summoners). Toddlers are tested for any Grisha power at a young age, and if powers are found, they have no choice but to fight in the second army and serve their country. Which is one of the reasons why Alina’s powers stayed dormant for so long. Mal (her childhood best friend) was her home, and if living in a palace with silk sheets and perfectly toasted herring meant losing him, she would fight back (even if it was subconsciously).  

Shadow and Bone has a variety of easy-to-love characters, and the more complicated “am I supposed to dislike them?” characters. This creates more diversity in opinions of the fans, which makes the whole universe so much more interesting and fun to dissect. For example, most fans don’t like Mal, and actually find him to be bland and dull. His motives felt pretty selfish and most of the time its hard to know whether he’s mad at Alina or not. He also struggles with his wants and needs, and what’s best for Alina.  Alina throughout the book is usually lost in her own thoughts with a thousand questions as to what’s going on, and how she’ll get out of her predicaments, which in a way is a reflection of the readers thoughts. But since the story is told only by her point of view, new information reveals itself as the plot unfolds. When Zoya is introduced, a powerful squaller with the ability to control air molecules, it feels as if she is just the “mean girl” of the story. But near the end, and during the rest of the trilogy, we find out she’s actually one of the most dynamic and complex characters in the story. 

I give this book a 5/5 rating. I’m always reluctant to give a book a 5 star rating because it needs to be perfection and something I would look forward to re-reading (which almost never happens), but this book definitely made a 5/5, and if I could give it a 6/5, I probably would. The age range is about 14+, which I also like, because if it had “adult scenes” I wouldn’t have liked it as much. Many Fantasy, fiction, and even historical-fiction readers would like this book. If you’re into any type of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones, this book is for you. This book was so real to me, it almost felt as if I had always belonged there, and that’s what a good book is about. It makes you feel conflicted, loved as if by your own family and friends, and gives you access to a world so beautifully described, that even its morbid aspects are just another reason to keep reading.