Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone # 1)

Young Adult. Fantasy. Tzarpunk. 

Nth reread. Read out loud with Rachel.

Rating: 4/5

Started: July 15

Finished: August 6

Summary:

    Alina Starkov is a mapmaker in the First Army, a misfit. The only place she's ever fit in is with her best friend, Mal, but sometimes that isn't even true. Then her regiment is assigned to cross the Shadow Fold, an ocean of darkness, populated with terrible monsters, that slices their country in two. When the monsters descend on their regiment in the inky terror of the Fold, Alina discovers something: She has the power of sunlight. To banish the Fold. To save her country. But the world of Grisha, those with the power to manipulate matter or elements or human flesh, is rife with danger and power, and Alina must decide what exactly she wants. And who to trust. 

Thoughts:

    One of Leigh Bardugo's weaker books, but that doesn't mean much when all of her work is stunning. After reading SoC, the first-person narrative was startling at first, but I got used to it, and I really do like Alina's truthful narration. Reading about David kept making me sad, but oh well. The Grishaverse really is so smart. So very smart. I am so happy Rachel is liking it, even if Mal is still her favorite character. One thing I noticed that was very funny was that at the very start of S&B, lots of parentheses were used for clauses, which made it read like a diary or middle school romance or something, but maybe a third of the way in, m-dashes started taking their place, and man, is that better. That was cool to see the evolution. The writing is elegant and rich and so lovely. Rachel and I are starting the second book soon.