‘Shadow and Bone’ Review: Holds Its Own in a Sea of Adaptations

In a world where there are numerous entries exploring post-Victorian, industrial-era, ‘steampunk type beat’ aesthetics, with a YA-focused, romance-laden narrative…Comes Shadow and Bone! After the age of Twilight and Maze Runner we enter a new phase of multiple YA novel adaptation entries that have, somehow, ‘found their time’ at the same time. The last two months alone have brought three young adult period pieces in Netflix’s The Irregulars, HBO’s The Nevers, and now Netflix’s take on Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. Is It Good Though? Well, yeah. Shadow and Bone will sweep you away if you let the narrative lead you. The series centers on Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) as one of the most obvious and oblivious protagonists and the key to solving this worlds’ problem. Speaking of, here’s the synopsis:

Based on Leigh Bardugo’s worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, Shadow and Bone finds us in a war-torn world where lowly soldier and orphan Alina Starkov has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. With the monstrous threat of the Shadow Fold looming, Alina is torn from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. But as she struggles to hone her power, she finds that allies and enemies can be one and the same and that nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. Netflix Media Center

SHADOW AND BONE (L to R) JESSIE MEI LI as ALINA STARKOV of SHADOW AND BONE Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX…