The following unabridged reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers. Reviews may be used for educational purposes consistent with the fair use doctrine in your jurisdiction, and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the rights holders.

Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).

From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Strange things are happening in Brooklyn even before a re-animated corpse attacks Sierra Santiago at the inaugural party of the summer. The murals on local buildings are changing and fading, tears and anguished expressions moving across the faces of the people in the paintings. Sudden, urgent requests from her invalid grandfather to team up with a boy named Robbie lead Sierra to discover a world of ancient magic tied directly to their Caribbean heritage: shadowshaping. An artist initiated into the shadowshapers can create a work of art—drawing, story, song, mural—and channel spirits to inhabit the creation and do the creator’s will. Robbie inducts Sierra, who shows a natural talent, into the shadowshapers. With the aid of Nydia (an archivist from Columbia University), Manny the Domino King, Neville Spencer (Sierra’s resourceful godfather), and her friends, Sierra and Robbie use their talents to unravel the mystery of the disappearing murals, fight a power-hungry anthropologist, and restore strength to the shadowshapers. The realistic characters and grounding of this urban fantasy in Puerto Rican and Haitian culture stand out. There is dialogue peppered with Spanish and French, comfort food of plantains and chicken and rice, Robbie’s tattoos portraying his Taino heritage, and the Salsa-Thrash Metal band led by Sierra’s brother. Open discussions of race and racial politics among the characters are also notable in a book that affirms the power of owning and embracing one’s cultural heritage. (Ages 13 and older)

CCBC Choices 2016 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2016. Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

December 6, 2019

Gr 8 Up-In this conclusion to the "Shadowshaper" trilogy, the stakes are even higher for Sierra and her crew from Octavia Butler High in Brooklyn. At the outset, they take out the villainous Queen of Bloodhaüs, but this victory is short-lived. It becomes clear that a final battle with La Contessa is coming. Many setbacks later, Sierra travels to Puerto Rico with her mother and the remaining Sorrow for a final battle. Meanwhile, the rest of her crew does battle with their rivals for control of the Deck of Worlds and the power to shape the future. In between chapters, readers learn La Contessa's origin story. This culminating book in the series will give fans the satisfying ending they've been craving. The various romance plotlines resolve neatly. The humorous dialogue, diverse representation, and politically aware themes that have been hallmarks of the series are also carried through to the end. While the skinheads of Bloodhaüs could have allowed for edgier political commentary, the fact that they were relatively easy to beat is a statement in and of itself. VERDICT A satisfying conclusion to a powerful urban fantasy series.-Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

December 1, 2019
Older (The Book of Lost Saints, 2019, etc.) brings the Shadowshaper Cypher to a close. Sierra Santiago is Lucera, Mistress of Shadows and Head of the House of Shadow and Light, and she and the other shadowshapers have been fighting the forces arrayed against them. It's been a month and a half since the events of Shadowhouse Fall (2017), when Sierra set up a rival magical house and stripped the head of her powers. In doing so she brought down an enemy...but by breaking a rule, she opened the door to other enemies. Separated into four parts, the book features folktale-esque interludes that chronicle the exploits of some of Sierra's magical ancestors. Throughout, Sierra's growth is obvious as she steps more fully into her leadership role as Lucera and grows to understand the complications of leadership. The narrative switches perspectives often, offering supporting characters, like Sierra's brother Juan and friends Tee and Izzy, a chance to be further developed and thus become more interesting to readers. Readers will appreciate the deeper dive into the mythology of shadowshapers and the Deck of Worlds, and though they may miss Sierra and her family and friends, they should be satisfied with this series closer. Sierra is Afro-Boricua, as is her family, and most of the other shadowshapers are people of color. Tee and Izzy are queer, and one of Sierra's ancestors was genderfluid. In a word: bueno. (map, Spread of Cards) (Fantasy. 14-adult)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Booklist

Starred review from December 1, 2019
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* Older knocks it out of the park with his thrilling conclusion to the Shadowshaper Cypher series. After the events of Shadowhouse Fall (2017), Sierra and her crew of shadowshapers have been split apart. On top of part of the crew sitting in jail, odd things begin happening to shadowshapers across Brooklyn, including threats, instances of stalking, and bizarre attacks from preternatural beings. Sierra realizes a war is coming that will embroil the four powerful houses and possibly destroy shadowshaper magic. While refusing to allow her loved ones to become casualties of the brewing war, protecting them will require a great sacrifice on Sierra's part, one that involves venturing to unknown places and the possibility of losing her way home. Shadowshaper Legacy stokes anticipation in the reader, sending twitching fingers from page to page until they reach the story's satisfying conclusion. Old and new characters provide additional resonance as they vividly spring to life, capturing readers' hearts in the process. Older excels at weaving timely issues into his urban fantasy, and this title shows Older at his best. Legacies, family ties, and confronting the mishaps of the past are all themes explored here, and young adult literature needs more books like it.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The conclusion to this best-selling and beloved series will have fans lining up yesterday. Stock up!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

From School Library Journal

February 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-The 2015 SLJ Best Book follows Afro-Latina Sierra Santiago as she discovers that she's part of a long line of shadowshapers, people with the ability to infuse magic into their art in order to fight off demons. The Brooklyn teen embraces her Blackness and defends it against the critique of her family members-a powerful statement in YA lit. Fresh dialogue and exceptional world-building will have readers anticipating further adventures in the upcoming Shadowhouse Fall slated for September 2017.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from February 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-If a picture is worth a thousand words, what does it mean when paintings start morphing, shifting, and even weeping actual tears? For Sierra Santiago, who thought she would spend her summer making the mural of her dreams, these newly moving pictures are clear warnings that mere words can't save the world as she knows it. While avoiding evil spirits and malicious spooks suddenly on the loose, Sierra needs to hunt down a fast-moving killer-but how? Her stroke-victim grandfather has nothing but garbled apologies, her harried mother offers no answers, and her loyal best friend remains bewildered. The only person who can help is the fellow street artist she just might be crushing on. This multicultural thriller set in Brooklyn with a smart, tough Puerto Rican heroine proves to be the perfect vehicle for versatile narrator Anika Noni Rose. The casting goes beyond serendipity-Rose's production company optioned screen rights to Older's adult fantasy series "Bone Street Rumba" (Roc). VERDICT For adventure seekers in search of a culturally robust fright fest, Shadowshaper awaits. ["Excellent diverse genre fiction in an appealing package": SLJ 4/15 starred review of the Arthur Levine book.]-Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from May 15, 2015
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* When Sierra's grandfather warns her to finish her mural because the paintings are fading, she is puzzled, but the only person willing to help her find answers is talented artist Robbie, and even he is reticent. Determined, Sierra finally learns the truth: her grandfather was a powerful shadowshaper, able to animate art with the spirit of a departed soul, and now an interloper, anthropologist Dr. Wick, is trying to steal these powers for himself. As Sierra investigates the shadowshapers, she discovers her own shockingly powerful role in the disappearing community. Apart from being an awesome power, shadowshaping becomes a resonant metaphor for the importance of cultural heritage, as Puerto Rican Sierra and Haitian Robbie draw on and amplify their ancestors' spirits, and their primary concern is keeping their honorable tradition alive in their community. Older's world building echoes that, too, weaving in timely commentary on gentrification, cultural appropriation, and even the shifting social mores of immigrant communities (especially evident in Sierra chafing against her grandfather's machismo). Even if readers don't recognize Older's crafty commentary, they will find plenty to like in the unique fantasy elements, entertainingly well-wrought characters, and cinematic pacing. Smart writing with a powerful message that never overwhelms the terrific storytelling.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from April 13, 2015
In Older's (Half-Resurrection Blues) YA debut, Sierra Santiago is from Bedford-Stuyvesant, parties in Park Slope, and crashes Columbia University with ease. Sierra's roots in her neighborhood are three generations deep, but no part of the city is alien to her. She loves art, and painting a mural on an abandoned building is the focus of her summer. Abruptly, her stroke-disoriented grandfather urges her to hurry the project-and then she is attacked by what looks like a walking corpse. What follows is a well-executed plot of the exceptional child with a mysterious history standing forth to save her world, aided by
a similarly gifted romantic interest. What makes Older's story exceptional is the way Sierra belongs in her world, grounded in family, friends, and an awareness of both history and change. Her goal is to go deeper into that history and, by so doing, effect change of her own. Sierra's masterful adaptability is most apparent in her language, which moves among English and Spanish, salsa and rap, formality and familiarity with an effortlessness that simultaneously demonstrates Older's mastery of his medium. Ages 14—up. Agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary Agency.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from April 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Summer has just started, and Sierra plans to enjoy it, hanging out with her friends in their Brooklyn neighborhood and painting a mural at the local junklot. Then things start to get weird. While she is talking to fellow artist Robbie at the first party of the summer, a zombielike creature disrupts things, Robbie disappears, and she is left to discover that she lives in a world full of magic that she knows nothing about. As she slowly pieces together the mystery of her heritage, Sierra discovers her own powers of ancestral magic and battles the evil professor who is trying to steal them. Robbie is a clear love interest, but he isn't there to rescue Sierra. Sierra is a tough, confident, body-positive female protagonist of Puerto Rican descent, proud of her 'fro and curves. The fact that she and Robbie seem to be connecting romantically is portrayed as more of a happy coincidence than the culmination of a lifelong dream of romance. Dialogue is fast paced and authentic to Sierra's Brooklyn neighborhood, which is vividly described. Readers will find someone to whom they can relate in her diverse group of friends. VERDICT Excellent diverse genre fiction in an appealing package.-Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

Starred review from March 15, 2015
When walking corpses-and worse-show up in the city, a teen discovers family secrets and ancestral powers.Sierra's summer plan is to paint an enormous mural on an abandoned, unfinished five-story building. On an older mural nearby, unnervingly, a painted face changes expression and weeps a tear that glistens and drops. Grandpa Lazaro, mostly speechless from a stroke, grasps a lucid moment to warn Sierra, "They are coming for us....the shadowshapers." Abuelo can't or won't explain further, and Sierra has no idea what shadowshapers are. Her regular world explodes into a "mystical Brooklyn labyrinth" shimmering with beauty but deadly dangerous. Walking corpses with icy grips and foul smells chase her, and a throng haint-a shadowy phantom with mouths all over-almost kills her. In Bed-Stuy, Prospect Park, and Coney Island in the middle of the night, Sierra fights to stay alive and to decipher her role in this chaos. This story about ancestors, ghosts, power, and community has art and music at its core; Sierra's drawing and painting turn out to be tools for spirit work. Sierra's Puerto Rican with African and Taino ancestors; her community is black and brown, young and old, Latin and Caribbean and American. Sometimes funny and sometimes striking, Older's comfortable prose seamlessly blends English and Spanish. Warm, strong, vernacular, dynamic-a must. (Urban fantasy. 14-18)

From AudioFile Magazine

Anika Noni Rose's narration rolls with every twist and turn in this fantasy, creating a variety of voices, moving flawlessly between English and Spanish, and bringing to life the main character. Sierra's summer project, painting a mural on an abandoned building in her Brooklyn neighborhood, shifts into a mystery that leads her to her magical heritage. Rose focuses listeners on Sierra's multicultural urban world. Her expressive delivery highlight Sierra's curiosity and intelligence as she does research, follows clues, discovers the power of her own art, and tries to outwit a killer who has turned his attention on her. Cultural exploration, magic, and action blend to form a lively listen. A.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine