Gold Star Review: Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

 

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart. (description from Amazon.com)

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Startlingly intriguing, this fantasy takes place in a world that feels both familiar and completely alien. There are details that make this world feel like an out of time Russia, with very eastern styles of dress and customs, but Bardugo has also taken that baseline for the world and added so much that is unique that it couldn't possibly be truly set there.

The horrible demonic creatures that plague the people of Ravka are scary and very alien-like. I kept picturing the weird creatures from the movie Pitch Dark (*shudders*).

Ugh. So creepy and deadly...

 

I loved the military-esque society that Alina is part of in Ravka. Led by those who can do magic, but mostly "regular" people. I'm very intrigued to see what happens to Alina now that her place in society has changed so drastically. Will she be able to survive being on the run from those she once revered?

 

This book left me hanging. I felt like I'd just come back from a world that I'd never imagined, but was totally real. I wanted to dive right back in for more. For that, a GOLD STAR!

Full disclosure: Purchased for my nook

The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon

The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon

by S. S. Taylor/Illus. by Katherine Roy

 

Computers have failed, electricity is extinct, and the race to discover new lands is underway! Brilliant explorer Alexander West has just died under mysterious circumstances, but not before smuggling half of a strange map to his intrepid children—Kit the brain, M.K. the tinkerer, and Zander the brave. Why are so many government agents trying to steal the half-map? (And where is the other half?) It’s up to Alexander’s children—the Expeditioners—to get to the bottom of these questions, and fast. (description from Amazon.com)

 

This book was a little bit of an unexpected joy for me. While I had read the description and knew that there was a treasure hunt, etc, I don't think it really sank in...what this book would be like...

 

Honestly, it was one of the best, most interesting steampunk adventures I've read yet.  I think, primarily, because it wasn't *just* steampunk.  This is dystopian steampunk.  In this world, we've gone beyond the computer age to a period where all that technology was distrusted and society withdrew back to steam power! Very, very cool conceptually. 

 

This book has a heavy focus on family relationships, gadgets, and mapmaking/reading.  Each of the West children has a different "specialty." M.K. can fix any type of machinery. Zander can almost commune with animals.  Our main character, and also the middle sibling, Kit, can read maps and solve codes, having learned from their Explorer father.  In this world, too, the Explorers, like Mr. West are on the hunt to map out and claim new lands.  They joke about the time when we were convinced that there were only seven continents!

 

This book was exciting and intriguing and once I started reading, I did not want to put it down.  Not only were there great descriptions of new creatures and awesome steampunk technologies, but the illustrator did an amazing job and every chapter there was at least one picture like this one of a typical Explorer's vest, full of cool gadgetry. There were full page illustrations and little ones sprinkled within the text.  The book cover also comes off and on the reverse side is a full character sketch of each of the kids and the friend that eventually goes hunting for the secret cavern with them. 

This book tackled a great adventure, built an awesome and intriguing world, and also threw in a couple of great moral lessons. I cannot WAIT to read the next book in the series!!

 

Full disclosure: Finished copy received from publisher for review