Shadowhouse Fall

Sixteen-year-old Sierra Santiago, the new Lucera and head of Shadowhouse, returns with the shadowshapers in this punch-packing sequel. It's a few months after the events of Shadowshaper, and Sierra would like nothing better than for things to go back to normal--or as normal as things get when one is the leader of an artistic troupe of spirit-summoning renegades. Sierra just wants her friends and family to be safe, but when a classmate aligned with the power-hungry Sorrows delivers a card from the Deck of Worlds and warns that the deck is in play again, Sierra fears that safety for her loved ones may be beyond her reach. Older intricately ties upheaval in the spirit world to the all-too-familiar dangers for black and brown teens in the day-to-day world he's created. Police brutality is as much a threat on the street and in school as are the House of Light and its minions, and the determination behind Sierra's dangerous power plays to save her family of shadowshapers is reflected in her friends' risky but unswerving protests against police violence as well as among the growing band of spirits called the "Black Hoodies," all killed by police. Moving past origin story, this sequel does its due diligence in filling in gaps and expanding the cast while presenting a more focused and emotionally developed plot, as Sierra pursues a new love interest and explores the many meanings and consequences of family. anastasia m. Collins