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A review by marcusrigsby
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
I know, I KNOW! The plot is so formulaic that I'm sure the author googled "Generic YA Templates" for inspiration. And yes, the characters are all archetypes with a maximum of two personality traits each. In fact, I would say that I agree with about 90% of the comments from the 1-2 star reviews. And, god, what a stupid and weirdly sexual title! But you know what? I'm still giving this book 5/5 stars, because I could not fucking put it down.
The secret to Shadow and Bone's success is its control of tension. Bardugo throws her readers into battles with eldritch terrors and brutal human enemies and just as quickly yanks them back into the comparatively safer world of courtly intrigues and painful social tension. There's not a monster or a mean girl here that you haven't encountered in a hundred other YA novels, but Bardugo's slick writing style will have you devouring pages like popcorn just to see if each story arc reaches its comfortingly familiar conclusion.
I will also concede that, having watched the Netflix version before reading the book, I was disappointed to find that Book-Alina has no Shu ancestry, as Netflix-Alina does. Netflix's decision to reimagine Alina as a political outcast added a layer of complexity and social commentary that the book really could have used. But the key to enjoying this ride is to accept that a book doesn't need to break any ground to leave an impression. A familiar story in the hands of a skilled storyteller can still keep you reading late into the night. If you're an aspiring writer of YA fiction, I recommend that you buy this book, outline it, dissect it, and find out how Bardugo does it. Casual readers, on the other hand, might be content to check it out at the library.
The secret to Shadow and Bone's success is its control of tension. Bardugo throws her readers into battles with eldritch terrors and brutal human enemies and just as quickly yanks them back into the comparatively safer world of courtly intrigues and painful social tension. There's not a monster or a mean girl here that you haven't encountered in a hundred other YA novels, but Bardugo's slick writing style will have you devouring pages like popcorn just to see if each story arc reaches its comfortingly familiar conclusion.
I will also concede that, having watched the Netflix version before reading the book, I was disappointed to find that Book-Alina has no Shu ancestry, as Netflix-Alina does. Netflix's decision to reimagine Alina as a political outcast added a layer of complexity and social commentary that the book really could have used. But the key to enjoying this ride is to accept that a book doesn't need to break any ground to leave an impression. A familiar story in the hands of a skilled storyteller can still keep you reading late into the night. If you're an aspiring writer of YA fiction, I recommend that you buy this book, outline it, dissect it, and find out how Bardugo does it. Casual readers, on the other hand, might be content to check it out at the library.