Shadowshaper, by Daniel José Older

Today at Kirkus, I wrote about Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper:

Sometimes she has to pause, to psych herself up, and to actively remind herself about who she is and what she’s capable of—to remind herself that she loves herself as she is. You’d think that the climax of the story, with the magic-slinging and so on, would be when Sierra exhibits the most badassery, but for me, it was those questioning, heart-breaking moments that were the most empowering. Because she is accepting and owning and giving voice to her vulnerabilities, and then she is making the choice to set them aside and keep moving forward—fighting those quiet, insistent internal monsters is harder than fighting a Big Bad on any day of the week.