Alina Starkov is an interesting character. She is an orphan who grew up with her best friend Malyen Orestev (Mal). As an orphan she finds that Mal is the only home she had. She is ripped away from him and forced into the unfamiliar and luxurious world of the Grisha. Most of Alina’s problems stem from the boys in her life. One of her romances is reminiscent of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight (not in a good way) while another impedes her progress in developing her Grisha powers. Despite her romantic troubles, Alina proves to be a strong and resilient character. She is willing to fight for her beliefs and openly speaks her mind.
Shadow and Bone can be a difficult read, but a good one as well. The world of the Grisha Trilogy is drastically different from ours and the names don’t make things easy either. Most of the names are difficult to pronounce and unheard of in the English language. This makes starting the book and getting into the world difficult. If you persevere past it, you are greeted with a well-developed and interesting world. The story starts off slow, but picks up intrigue as the plot moves on. Midway through the book, the plot really starts to take off and Shadow and Bone transforms into a book that is impossible to put down. I give this 356 page book 4 stars.