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A review by songwind
Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older
5.0
This followup to [b:Shadowshaper|22295304|Shadowshaper (Shadowshaper, #1)|Daniel José Older|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416429594s/22295304.jpg|41683308] continues where the first left off, and doesn't slow down.
Like the first book, the supernatural events that affect the shadowshapers' lives are just one thread in a tapestry of life that Older weaves around them. All the major characters return, and face their own challenges and dilemmas.
Where the first book's environment dealt a great deal with gentrification, this installment's theme is more geared toward "the system" and the kids' experiences with it. The treatment is pretty wide-ranging, with wise and foolish actions from all quarters and (mostly) complex players. From kids becoming victims of a system meant to protect them, to others cynically abusing it, well meaning cogs doing right AND making mistakes, and forces attempting to change it from within, the message is pretty broad and thoughtful.
I really only have one small complaint, and that's that the supernatural antagonists are kind of flat. OTOH, there's lots of meat there with the environmental antagonists and the systemic ones. And the one-note nature of the Sorrows and their followers is justified in-world, sot it's only a quibble rather than a real gripe. I am a little surprised that Sierra or especially Izzy never really clapped back at any of them about their claims of goodness and justice, though.
Narration node - Anika Noni Rose does a fine job as narrator on this book. She manages to give each character a voice that feels appropriate, and handles men, women, and multiple accents, languages and dialects smoothly.
Like the first book, the supernatural events that affect the shadowshapers' lives are just one thread in a tapestry of life that Older weaves around them. All the major characters return, and face their own challenges and dilemmas.
Where the first book's environment dealt a great deal with gentrification, this installment's theme is more geared toward "the system" and the kids' experiences with it. The treatment is pretty wide-ranging, with wise and foolish actions from all quarters and (mostly) complex players. From kids becoming victims of a system meant to protect them, to others cynically abusing it, well meaning cogs doing right AND making mistakes, and forces attempting to change it from within, the message is pretty broad and thoughtful.
I really only have one small complaint, and that's that the supernatural antagonists are kind of flat. OTOH, there's lots of meat there with the environmental antagonists and the systemic ones. And the one-note nature of the Sorrows and their followers is justified in-world, sot it's only a quibble rather than a real gripe. I am a little surprised that Sierra or especially Izzy never really clapped back at any of them about their claims of goodness and justice, though.
Narration node - Anika Noni Rose does a fine job as narrator on this book. She manages to give each character a voice that feels appropriate, and handles men, women, and multiple accents, languages and dialects smoothly.