Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Summary
This summer is supposed to be like any other – Sierra is should be spending her time painting, hanging out with friends, and doing what any other teenager might do with time to kill. What isn’t supposed to happen is the unraveling of a secret her family has kept from her for years and a fight to save everything she loves. Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned.
Review
Shadowshaper is a wonderful urban fantasy. Between mystery, family secrets, and budding romance all overlayed by magic, it’s difficult to pick where to start. All of the elements fit nicely together, though I thought the romance moved a bit quickly for two people looking to stop a murderer and the end of Shadowshaper life as they know it. There was, however, a realistic balance between the “real world” and that of the Shadowshapers. As in any good urban fantasy, the lines between our reality and the Shadowshapers’ blurs in a very interesting way.
One especially compelling element in this book was how it dealt with the relationship between the older and younger generations. It’s very clear that everything that’s happening is a direct result of actions that the older Shadowshaper generation once took. Though they certainly face consequences, it falls to Sierra and her generation to clean up the mess they left. This theme really resonated with me – despite a glaring difference between my circumstances and Sierra’s – and I think it would with many in my generation. All in all, Shadowshaper is a fantastic story that I believe many will relate to in one way or another.
Yours in love and literature, Page.
Content warning(s): violence, death, murder, colorism
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