This fandom goes from a circus of clowns to a coven of victorian maidens, head over heels for the neck of a gentleman, in no time… And I live for this!
Shadow & Bone is some of the best YA fiction I’ve read
Disclaimer: watched the show, fell back in love with Ben Barnes, then read the book
-I like that its a made-up country but based on a real place in the world, and the surrounding made-up countries correspond to the real world.
-The distrust of Grisha is set up early and carried through. Also, I liked the fact that Grisha tend to get angry about the superstitions surrounding them, but still isolate themselves and do very little to actually explain the Small Science to non-Grisha.
-An add on to this would be Alina thinking that all Grisha are snobby. It feels like Grisha are living in the same country, but in a different reality to most Ravkans. This is only exaggerated by the “peasant food” and “peasant clothes,” inner monologue thing. I don’t know what to call it but it was good.
-That argument between Sergei and Marie, and then later when Genya tried to explain Grisha rankings to Alina, was really funny to me. Like, they’re really concerned about which Grisha is better, but to the majority of people, it doesn’t matter because they’re dangerous whatever colour they wear.
-The queen is Marie Antionette, but not much smarter than her husband Marie Antionette who was much better suited to governance. “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antionette. Does that make sense?
-I really like that no Grisha is good simply because they are Grisha and no non-Grisha is good simply because they are non-Grisha. All characters are flawed, but most of these flaws are extremely relatable. Alina is jealous. Mal is quick to judge. Zoya measures her success through the favour of other (the Darkling). Genya is vengeful and the Queen is vain.
-How on earth did the author manage to make a purely evil character the best potential romantic partner? Can she tell me her secrets please?
-Baghra’s role is interesting. While the reader has their suspicions of the Darkling before she reveals he is the Black Heretic, she confirms him to be the villain. But at the same time, as his mother, she humanises him, both as the Darkling and the Black Heretic.
-There’s something deeply satisfying about Genya shifting from the bottom of the Grisha hierarchy to the top, by poisoning the King. Love that for her. Also David is baby who must be protected at all costs.
-The idea that saving a life gives you more power than taking one is overused, but it was actually quite cleverly incorporated.
-There was one line in the final chapter that stuck with me, about the Grisha being unable to imagine a world without the Darkling’s protection. It was a much better explanation for their actions then “oh, they’re just all power hungry monsters.”
-I liked the allusions to a Grisha vs non-Grisha conflict. Superstitions and prejudices run deep, making scapegoating easy.
Overall a well written book exploring power, personal struggle, the psychology of war and trauma, and the dangers of privilege with no understanding of its impact.
Bring the light ☀ Awesome Jessie Mei Li aka Alina Starkov
posts here appear much later than in other resources, sooo you can always find me on Instagram!! I’m @/genniearts as always, and I’ll be happy to see you there
