She dresses provocatively (per the standards of her culture) on purpose in order to attract the attention of men. She’s had a number of sexual partners, is proud of it, and is clear about wanting and enjoying sex. One of Alessandra’s defining personality traits, besides her cruelty, is her sexual openness. And while I am in general of the belief that many YA books can stand to be a bit more subtle with their themes than they are, The Shadows Between Us doesn’t do much with its own themes at all.Īt the worst times, the book is completely contradictory.
After all, the book is a romance so what does it mean if readers can actually root for Alessandra to get her man, actually root for these two cruel people to have a happily ever after when that ending means they’ll be in power over vulnerable people? The book doesn’t deal with these questions. There is a lot of potential for The Shadows Between Us to explore her–and the king’s–awfulness and the reader’s relationship with it. So my real problem is that Alessandra’s terribleness isn’t really nuanced.
Admittedly, I hated her as much as any other reader might, but I thought writing a protagonist who is objectively a horrible person was a bold move for YA at least, it’s different and not like 50 other YA books I’ve read before. She’s manipulative and mean (and literally willing to kill to get what she wants) but presents these characteristics as confidence and empowerment. Protagonist Alessandra may be the toughest sell of the novel for many readers. With an okay but not particularly riveting plot (which leans heavily towards romance, not the political intrigue that the official summary implies) and messages about love and feminism that were are contradictory, The Shadows Between Us does not live up to the caliber of Levenseller’s previous work. Unfortunately, this is about as far as the novelty of the book goes for me.
The Shadows Between Us, with its unapologetically cruel and ambitious protagonist, initially seems set up to provide something unique and exciting to the YA market–a main character who is deeply unlikeable and simply does not care.
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