Shadowshaper

As an urban fantasy novel, Daniel José Older does a superb job of creating a very realistic world in New York City’s Brooklyn surrounding issues of race, gender, gentrification, and familial relationships while still intertwining those aspects of fantasy that captures readers’ attention. Older’s Shadowshaper follows the story of Sierra Santiago, an Afro-Caribbean high school girl growing up in Brooklyn, who must team up with friends and family to protect her family’s legacy of shadowshaping from Dr. Jonathan Wick, an evil anthropologist who learned the secrets of the shadowshapers and is attempting to use this Caribbean magic for his own despicable means.

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One of the things Older does particularly well in writing to the young adult demographic is his realism amidst the fantasy. By creating a relatable character in Sierra, he does the most important thing for his audience possible—gives a voice to real, marginalized groups of people. He breaks away from the standard structure for young adult fantasy and paints a clear picture for readers who may not be familiar with the issues faced daily by those treated as second-class citizens.

Despite the many successes of this novel, however, Older falls into the same pattern that many authors of his kind have a tendency of doing. While creating a revolutionary piece of literature in a way in which it will capture the readers’ attention and captivate them throughout the novel long enough for them to understand the set of values he is trying to portray, he falls short in that it is still a story of fantasy. It is problematic to continually place minority characters at the forefront of fantastical and science fictional situations in literature because it perpetuates the discourse that those who are relentlessly ostracized can only exist as intelligent, strong, hardworking individuals in the fictional universe. If they are placed in unrealistic situations, these characters being portrayed as a hero is equated to also being unrealistic. However, this criticism does not take away from the conversations that Older does create for his readers.

Sierra faces many dangerous situations in her adventures surrounding shadowshaping, but she also faces many issues that a Puerto Rican teen from Brooklyn would face every day. She specifically touches upon gentrification when she is walking through her neighborhood that she has known her entire life and feeling like somehow she is the outsider. Because of this it is apparent throughout the novel that she has a clear lack of confidence when it comes to her natural beauty, and is a good commentary for teen girls who struggle to overcome these self-esteem issues in a society that is overwhelmingly white.

There is also a clear spiritual discussion that is brought up in the shadowshapers, which goes beyond simply communicating with spirits and consists of these characters actually being able to embody the spirits they come in contact with. The spirituality of this book provides comfort for those struggling with understanding something so intrinsic in who they are, but goes against the mainstream. Many people face personal battles with their own spirituality and by creating a story where this is literally occurring, it validates these feelings, and readers may find a sense of consolation in knowing they are not alone in this thinking.

Shadowshaper definitely provides some much needed relief for the young adult readers in today’s society. There is a responsibility that today's authors have to make sure all youth to feel as though they are being represented and are worthy of a voice. Not only does Daniel José Older take that responsibility on for himself, but he also inspires the youth of America to do the same.