about the book
All Sierra Santiago wanted to do this summer was make art and hang out with friends.
But Manny has recruited Sierra to paint a mural on a giant tower that was built but never finished in their Brooklyn neighborhood just over a year ago, an ugly monstrosity among the brownstones. While painting, Sierra is distracted, noticing a tear on the mural of Papa Acevedo. Does the painting look sadder than it used to? Suddenly the tear slides down his face.
It’s clear that the summer Sierra wanted won’t happen when Sierra’s grandfather begins apologizing profusely as she attempts to leave for the first party of the summer. He’s not making sense to her—demanding that she finish her painting immediately because the paintings are fading and someone is coming for them, for the shadowshapers. Sierra doesn’t understand, and her grandfather says to ask Robbie for help.
When Sierra seeks out Robbie, also an artist, he introduces the magic of shadowshaping—the infusion of ancestral spirits into artwork. Someone is murdering shadowshapers, and they’re after Sierra, believing she holds a great shadowshaper secret.
Sierra’s summer will actually be spent unraveling her family’s past, attempting to stop the killer, and saving future generations of shadowshapers.
about the author
Author Daniel José Older tried various writing paths before finding the novel. He had been composing music and writing screenplays and poems, but hadn’t found his groove, so he was still working as New York City paramedic. In 2009 he decided to write a book with Harry Potter in mind, one of Daniel’s beloved series. However, he was tired of not seeing diverse characters who felt real—and Shadowshaper was born.
Daniel has also written short stories and essays which have appeared in Tor.com, Salon, BuzzFeed, New Haven Review, PANK, Apex, and Strange Horizons. His writing has been published in two anthologies: Subversion and Mothership: Tales of Afrofuturism and Beyond.
Also playing in a band, Ghost Star, Daniel gigs around New York; and he conducts workshops on storytelling with an anti-oppressive power analysis.
Sources:
Author website
Author lecture on diverse books: YouTube
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