Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone is a 2012 young adult fantasy novel by American author Leigh Bardugo.

Shadow and Bone is a 2012 young adult fantasy novel by American author Leigh Bardugo. It is the first book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, also known as the Grisha trilogy, and follows Alina Starkov after she discovers a rare power in the war-torn country of Ravka. The novel helped launch the wider Grishaverse and later inspired a Netflix adaptation, which was widely available in Canada.

Plot

The novel follows Alina Starkov and Mal Oretsev, childhood friends and war orphans, as Alina discovers she may be the key to saving Ravka from the Shadow Fold. She is drawn into the Grisha elite and the court intrigue surrounding her power and the Darkling.

Publication

Shadow and Bone was published by Macmillan Publishers on June 5, 2012. Sources describe it as Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel and the opening volume of the Grisha trilogy.

Setting and worldbuilding

The book is set in Ravka, a fantasy realm inspired by Tsarist Russia. Its magic system, called the Small Science, and the Shadow Fold are central parts of the series’ worldbuilding.

Adaptations

The novel and its series became the basis for the Netflix adaptation Shadow and Bone, which premiered in April 2021. The adaptation combines material from the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology.