Review: Shadowshaper

Title: Shadowshaper

Author: Daniel Jose Older

Date Completed: 4 March 2016

The hosts of the books podcasts I listen to are committed to promoting diversity in literature and the publishing industry. While I don't typically consider an author's race when I select books, I have noticed that my favorite genre, fantasy, is dominated by white men. So when I heard about this young adult fantasy novel by a latino author about latina family I figured I'd give it a go.

The protagonist is a dark-skinned latina teenager living in modern day Brooklyn. She discovers early on in her summer vacation that her family has been hiding a secret about their heritage from her--they're shadowshapers, or people who can animate art with spirits. While unravelling the mystery of magical heritage, she discovers that a rogue anthropologist had infiltrated the shadowshaper community in Brooklyn and has been killing off its members one-by-one stealing their powers. The rest of the book is the main charater not only learning how to use her newfound powers but also saving the world with her her gang of friends.

The friendships in this books are solid, loyal, and supportive even when they don't comprehend the whole magical system and danger that they are in. The author encourages respect for one's heritage and traditions (also some good Spanish practice tossed in). The author also inserted some positive body image for the curvy, frizzy haired, dark-skinned girls in the world. In summary, good themes for a young adult novel.

While urban fantasy will probably never be my favorite sub-genre, this book did provide an interesting cultural lens to see the world and magic.