A Writers View

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the YA enemies to (could’ve-been) lovers excellence that we’ve all been craving for years!

Ok, please forgive me, but I’m going to give a synopsis in a very chaotic fangirl-fashion!

Ready?

Here we go!

Alina Starkov is a solider in the Ravkan First Army. As a low ranking map-maker Alina really only has one mission – don’t die! That, and “don’t let your best friend know that you’re secretly in love with him.” Then, her unit is selected to make the dreaded journey across The Fold – the swath of impenetrable darkness that has torn her country in two for centuries.

Turns out Alina has special powers – which means that she can summon the light, banish the darkness, and wear cool colors now. Thanks to that, her unit survives The Fold, but uh-oh, she’s in trouble now. Immediately, people are trying to kill her, sway her over to their side, and (in the case of the show) kidnap her!

A whole lot of stuff happens with her best-guy-friend ignoring her letters (only he wasn’t), the enigmatic alluring Black General showing more than casual interest (much, much more!) in her, political intrigue, fancy food and balls, and (in the case of the show) hectic heisting!

If you’re a fan of Fantasy, or YA, or My Chemical Romance, then hunny you’re gonna love Shadow & Bone!

The book is brilliant – but if for some reason you don’t like reading – then you can hop on over to Netflix and watch the first season of Shadow & Bone, which has THE BEST casting for ANY young adult book to movie adaptation that I’ve EVER SEEN!

Seriously, most YA book-to-movie adaptation castings are – downright awful! Sure, sometimes you get 1 or 2 perfectly casted characters (but, to quote disney’s John Smith, “can’t think of any right now!”), but that’s it. With the exceptions of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, most castings are just “not it!”. (That’s right, I’m looking at you Twilight!)

Not only did all of the actors LOOK like the characters, they all ACTED like them too!

On the typewriter ranking system, I give the book Shadow & Bone 4.7 out of 5, and the show (for casting alone!) 5 out of 5!

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