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Shadow and Bone
Cover of Shadow and Bone
Shadow and Bone
Borrow Borrow

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone — Season 2 streaming now!
Discover the adventure that started it all and meet Alina, Mal, and the Darkling in Shadow and Bone from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.

Soldier
. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country's magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.
The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising
Praise for the Grishaverse
"A master of fantasy." —The Huffington Post
"Utterly, extremely bewitching." —The Guardian

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone — Season 2 streaming now!
Discover the adventure that started it all and meet Alina, Mal, and the Darkling in Shadow and Bone from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.

Soldier
. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country's magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.
The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising
Praise for the Grishaverse
"A master of fantasy." —The Huffington Post
"Utterly, extremely bewitching." —The Guardian

Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB eBook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    1
  • Library copies:
    1
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    5.3
  • Lexile:
    800
  • Interest Level:
    MG+
  • Text Difficulty:
    3 - 4


 
Awards-
Excerpts-
  • Copyright © 2012 by Leigh Bardugo

    Shadow and Bone

    CHAPTER I

    STANDING ON THE EDGE of a crowded road, I looked down onto the rolling fields and abandoned of farms of the Tula Valley and got my first glimpse of the Shadow Fold. My regiment was two weeks' march from the military encampment at Poliznaya and the autumn sun was warm overhead, but I shivered in my coat as I eyed the haze that lay like a dirty smudge on the horizon.

    A heavy shoulder slammed into me from behind. I stumbled and nearly pitched face-first into the muddy road.

    "Hey!" shouted the soldier. "Watch yourself !"

    "Why don't you watch your fat feet?" I snapped, and took some satisfaction from the surprise that came over his broad face. People, particularly big men carrying big rifles,don't expect lip from a scrawny thing like me. They always look a bit dazed when they get it.

    The soldier got over the novelty quickly and gave me a dirty look as he adjusted the pack on his back, then disappeared into the caravan of horses, men, carts, and wagons streaming over the crest of the hill and into the valley below.

    I quickened my steps, trying to peer over the crowd. I'd lost sight of the yellow flag of the surveyors' cart hours ago, and I knew I was far behind.

    As I walked, I took in the green and gold smells of the autumn wood, the soft breeze at my back. We were on the Vy, the wide road that had once led all the way from Os Alta to the wealthy port cities on Ravka's western coast. But that was before the Shadow Fold.

    Somewhere in the crowd, someone was singing. Singing? What idiot is singing on his way into the Fold? I glanced again at that smudge on the horizon and had to suppress a shudder. I'd seen the Shadow Fold on many maps, a black slash that had severed Ravka from its only coastline and left it landlocked. Sometimes it was shown as a stain, sometimes as a bleak and shapeless cloud. And then there were the maps that just showed the Shadow Fold as a long, narrow lake and labeled it by its other name, "the Unsea," a name intended to put soldiers and merchants at their ease and encourage crossings.

    I snorted. That might fool some fat merchant, but it was little comfort to me.

    I tore my attention from the sinister haze hovering in the distance and looked down onto the ruined farms of the Tula. The valley had once been home to some of Ravka's richest estates. One day it was a place where farmers tended crops and sheep grazed in green fields. The next, a dark slash had appeared on the landscape, a swath of nearly impenetrable darkness that grew with every passing year and crawled with horrors. Where the farmers had gone, their herds, their crops, their homes and families, no one knew.

    Stop it, I told myself firmly. You're only making things worse. People have been crossing the Fold for years ... usually with massive casualties, but all the same. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

    "No fainting in the middle of the road," said a voice close to my ear as a heavy arm landed across my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. I looked up to see Mal's familiar face, a smile in his bright blue eyes as he fell into step beside me. "C'mon," he said. "One foot in front of the other. You know how it's done."

    "You're interfering with my plan."

    "Oh really?"

    "Yes. Faint, get trampled, grievous injuries all around."

    "That sounds like a brilliant plan."

    "Ah, but if I'm horribly maimed, I won't be able to cross the Fold."

    Mal nodded slowly. "I see. I can shove you under a cart if that would help."

    "I'll think about it," I grumbled, but I felt my mood lifting all the same. Despite my best efforts, Mal still had that effect on me. And I wasn't the only one. A pretty blond girl...

About the Author-
  • Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, The Language of Thorns, and the King of Scars duology—with more to come. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019). She lives in Los Angeles and is an Associate Fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.
Reviews-
  • Publisher's Weekly

    April 30, 2012
    In a strong debut, Bardugo draws inspiration from Russian and Slavic myth and culture to kick off her Grisha trilogy. In the nation of Ravka, Alina Starkov is a junior cartographer’s assistant in the army, while her best friend Mal is an expert tracker. When a perilous mission into the magically created Shadow Fold goes wrong, Mal is gravely wounded and Alina manifests the rare ability to summon light. Immediately recruited into the order of the magic-using Grisha, Alina is taken under the wing of its intimidating and powerful leader, the Darkling, and heralded as the potential destroyer of the Shadow Fold. As she navigates Grisha politics and uncovers well-hidden secrets, she realizes that the fate of the nation rests on her shoulders and she may be in grave danger. Filled with lush descriptions, intriguing magic, and plenty of twists, this memorable adventure offers action and intrigue mixed with an undercurrent of romance and danger. Alina’s angst and passivity are a bit of a letdown, but Bardugo’s storytelling and world-building more than compensate. Ages 12–up. Agent: Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Nancy Coffey Literary Agency.

  • Kirkus

    April 15, 2012
    In a Russian-inflected fantasy world, an orphan comes into immense power and, with it, danger. When the Grisha came to test inseparable friends Alina and Malyen, neither showed any aptitude for the Small Science. Years later, they are in the army, Alina in the cartographer corps and Mal a tracker. They are escorting the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha in the land, across the terrifying Shadow Fold that divides Ravka's heart from its coast. An attack by the terrifying volcra brings forth a power Alina never knew she had: She is a Sun Summoner. The charismatic, quartz-eyed Darkling takes her to the palace to learn the art of the Etherealki, and Mal is left behind. Bardugo allows the details of Grisha magic to unfold with limited exposition, using Alina's ignorance for readers' benefit. While Alina's training borrows familiar tropes (outlander combat teacher, wizened-crone magic instructor, friends and enemies among her peers), readers will nevertheless cheer her progress. But the worldbuilding is continually undercut by clunky colloquialisms; such phrases as "Well, that's completely creepy" and "It's okay" yank readers out of this carefully constructed, mostly preindustrial world. Readers may also be troubled by the sexualization of power found in its pages. The plotting is powerful enough to carry most readers past flaws and into the next book in the series. (classification of Grisha types, map [not seen]) (Fantasy. 13 & up)

    COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • School Library Journal

    June 1, 2012

    Gr 7 Up-Fast-paced and unpredictable, this debut novel will be a hit with readers who love dark fantasy. Orphans and childhood friends Alina and Mal are tested for magical abilities early in life. Not wanting to be separated from her only friend, Alina manages to hide her powers and grows into her teen years, unnoticed and unremarkable. But when she and Mal must cross the perilous Shadow Fold as army soldiers, Alina uses her dormant powers to save Mal's life. After that episode, Alina is revealed to be a "Sun Summoner," a person who can bring forth light and maybe destroy the Shadow Fold for good. She's whisked away to train as a Grisha, a group whose varied powers assist the royal court. There, she begins to understand her incredible abilities with the help of the ancient and powerful Darkling, "a man second in power only to the King," who leads Alina to believe that she can bring peace to their divided country. Bardugo creates a unique world complete with monsters, magic, danger, romance, corruption, and extravagance. Suspense builds slowly, allowing readers time to absorb the otherworldly setting and the battle between the darkness that destroys and the light that saves. In the world of the Grisha, few things are as they seem, and wondering who Alina should trust-and if she can even trust herself-adds to the intrigue.-Leigh Collazo, Ed Willkie Middle School, Fort Worth, TX

    Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

  • Booklist

    May 15, 2012
    Grades 7-12 Debut author Bardugo has conjured up a treat with her first book in the Grisha Trilogy. In the opening passages, a tight bond is formed by two small orphans: handsome, competent Mal and tiny Alina, who never seems to do anything right. Jumping forward in time, the story follows the two friends after they have joined the King's First ArmyMal as a soldier-tracker and Alina as a cartographer. Their land of Ravka is surrounded by enemies and divided by the Shadow Fold, a mysterious, magical darkness that seethes with flesh-eating monsters. After Alina discovers that she possesses a magical power, she is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, magicians who practice the Small Science. Resembling Czarist Russia, the court swirls with deceit and extravagance, and although Alina falls under the spell of the handsome Darkling, she misses Mal grievously. Bardugo weaves a captivating spell with lushly descriptive writing, engaging characters, and an exotic, vivid world. Readers will wait impatiently for the next installment. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A six-figure marketing campaign is already ensuring that this series debut receives blockbuster attention.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

  • The Horn Book

    July 1, 2012
    When Alina and fellow orphan (and best friend) Mal are attacked by monsters, Alina discovers a hidden gift: she is able to manipulate light and thus save Mal. The king's mage sweeps her off to develop her abilities--but what about her bond with Mal? A rich fantasy landscape, an inspired magical structure, and a gratifying emotional hook keep the pages whirring by.

    (Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

  • The Horn Book

    July 1, 2012
    Crossing the Shadow Fold with their army unit, Alina and her handsome fellow orphan (and best friend) Mal are attacked by the Volcra, hideous creatures that live in the dark of that magic-blasted land. The threat of Mal's imminent death brings forth a rare and hidden magical gift in Alina: she is a Sun Summoner, able to manipulate light and thus save Mal. Her talent draws the attention of the Darkling, the king's most powerful mage, who sweeps her off to his palace to develop her abilities further. Wrapped in luxury and promised a brilliant future, Alina is drawn in by the Darkling's seductive magnetism, but what about her bond with Mal? Out on the frontier scouting with his army unit, he won't even answer her letters -- is it time for her to move on? A rich fantasy landscape, an inspired magical structure, and a gratifying emotional hook keep the pages whirring by until a final twist upends assumptions and lands us smack in the middle of a harrowing climax. And Bardugo's readers are in luck: it appears the author is planning a sequel. anita l. burkam

    (Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

  • VOYA

    "Danger and duplicity abound (is the Darkling good or evil?) in this lavish portrayal of a country reminiscent of Imperial Russia."

  • Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Divergent "Set in a fascinating, unique world rich with detail, Shadow and Bone was unlike anything I've ever read."
  • School Library Journal, starred "Fast-paced and unpredictable, this debut novel will be a hit with readers who love dark fantasy."
  • New York Times "Mesmerizing...Bardugo's set up is shiver-inducing, of the delicious variety. This is what fantasy is for."
  • Horn Book Magazine "A rich fantasy landscape, an inspired magical structure, and a gratifying emotional hook keep the pages whirring by until a final twist upends assumptions and lands us smack in the middle of a harrowing climax. "
  • Publishers Weekly "Filled with lush descriptions, intriguing magic, and plenty of twists, this memorable adventure offers action and intrigue mixed with an undercurrent of romance and danger."
  • Kirkus "The plotting is powerful..."
  • Booklist "Bardugo weaves a captivating spell with lushly descriptive writing, engaging characters, and an exotic, vivid world. Readers will wait impatiently for the next installment."
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