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A review by reubenalbatross
Lady of the Shades by Darren Shan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I'm not sure I have ever read a book with so many shocking twists!
This book had a great balance of keeping the reader in the dark and leaving enough clues that each twist was believable yet completely confounding.
Right until the end of the book I was ready to give it 5 stars and start shouting from the rooftops about it. However, just when it was going SO well, the slur tr*nny was just casually slipped into the narrative. Not once, but TWICE. I know this book was written a while back when that word was more 'accepted', but it still shook me. Unless used by trans-women authors themselves, I don't think there's any excuse for using that slur in this way.
This is the one and only reason I couldn't give it 5 stars, I thought the rest was fantastic.
This book had a great balance of keeping the reader in the dark and leaving enough clues that each twist was believable yet completely confounding.
Right until the end of the book I was ready to give it 5 stars and start shouting from the rooftops about it. However, just when it was going SO well, the slur tr*nny was just casually slipped into the narrative. Not once, but TWICE. I know this book was written a while back when that word was more 'accepted', but it still shook me. Unless used by trans-women authors themselves, I don't think there's any excuse for using that slur in this way.
This is the one and only reason I couldn't give it 5 stars, I thought the rest was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia