Book Series that I have completed
& The Ones I haven't gotten around to finishing, or am waiting on
Updated: 02/12/24 | Updated 09/30/2024
seen from Türkiye
seen from Germany

seen from Poland
seen from Japan

seen from Netherlands

seen from United States
seen from Germany

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seen from Switzerland

seen from United States

seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
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seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from China

seen from Switzerland
Book Series that I have completed
& The Ones I haven't gotten around to finishing, or am waiting on
Updated: 02/12/24 | Updated 09/30/2024
The Deck of Worlds
The Shadowshaper Cypher is now complete! ✨If you’re anything like us, when you finish any book you want to spend more time in that world - and the world of shadowshapers and magic in Brooklyn is no different.
Luckily, author Daniel José Older has shared these incredible character art illustrations by artist Raven White for The Deck of Worlds from the books.
THE DECK OF WORLDS
A mystical deck of cards that both bestows power on various participants and reflects that powery in its imagery. At any given time, there are three official Houses of the Deck: A Dominant, a Subdominant, and an Ascending. The fourth house is made up of Hierophants—über powerful entities who function like jokers, chaos agents, and enforcers of the Deck’s rules. The Dominant house is granted the most power, the subdominant second most, etc…
Each House has five suites, which vary from house to house but follow certain archetypal patterns:
The Master –– has all the powers of the House at their disposal
The Warrior –– physical combat
The Spy –– can initiate to another house while disguising their true allegiance
The Sorcerer –– performs initiation
The Hound –– seeker
All of this is reflected in the Almanac of the Deck of Worlds.
The Hierophants –– Fortress, La Contessa Araña, The Empty Man, The River, The Reaper.
Sierra Santiago Badass muralist and also the head of the shadowshapers.
Bennie Jackson Techie extraordinaire and Sierra’s best friend.
Izzy, aka King Impervious Hot fire on the mic and undefeated at ’shaping now that she’s learned to use her rhymes to fight.
Tee Dapper to death and one of the best shadowshapers out there. Also runs the local paper.
Juan Santiago Sierra’s brother. Co-founder of the salsa/thrasher band Culebra. Unstoppable on electric guitar. Somewhat stoppable as a shadowshaper, but he’s learning.
Anthony “Pulpo” King Extremely crushable bassist, lead singer, and co-founder of Culebra. Juan’s BFF.
She was the shimmering culmination of all her ancestors’ strife, joyfulness, and struggle. She was a radiant child of spirit. She was a hundred different souls vibrating within a single living body.
December 11th: A diverse book
Shadowhouse Fall, by Daniel José Older
"Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing...as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds...or risk losing them all."
Key appeals: art, resistance, fierce heroine, community power, black girl magic
Recommended for: people who like series that get better with each book, fantasy fans looking for more inclusive reads
We have five books that honestly look amazing. Which ones are on your TBR list?
Warcross by Marie Lu G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.
Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story by Sonia Patel Cinco Puntos Press
Seventeen-year-old Jaya Mehta detests wealth, secrets, and privilege, though he has them all. His family is Indian, originally from Gujarat. Rasa Santos, like many in Hawaii, is of mixed ethnicity. All she has are siblings, three of them, plus a mother who controls men like a black widow spider and leaves her children whenever she wants to. Neither Jaya nor Rasa have ever known real love or close family―not until their chance meeting one sunny day on a mountain in Hau’ula.
The unlikely love that blooms between them must survive the stranglehold their respective pasts have on them. Each of their present identities has been shaped by years of extreme family struggles. By the time they cross paths, Jaya is a transgender outsider with depressive tendencies and the stunningly beautiful Rasa thinks sex is her only power until a violent pimp takes over her life. Will their love transcend and pull them forward, or will they remain stuck and separate in the chaos of their pasts?
You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins Farrar, Straus and Giroux
This elegant novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture–for better or worse.
From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.
Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.
Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older Arthur A. Levine Books
Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light — an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived.
Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds… or risk losing them all.
Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh Tu Books
After a great war, the East Pacific is in ruins. In brutal Neo Seoul, where status comes from success in combat, ex-gang member Lee Jaewon is a talented pilot rising in the ranks of the academy. Abandoned as a kid in the slums of Old Seoul by his rebel father, Jaewon desires only to escape his past and prove himself a loyal soldier of the Neo State.
When Jaewon is recruited into the most lucrative weapons development division in Neo Seoul, he is eager to claim his best shot at military glory. But the mission becomes more complicated when he meets Tera, a test subject in the government’s supersoldier project. Tera was trained for one purpose: to pilot one of the lethal God Machines, massive robots for a never-ending war.
With secret orders to report on Tera, Jaewon becomes Tera’s partner, earning her reluctant respect. But as respect turns to love, Jaewon begins to question his loyalty to an oppressive regime that creates weapons out of humans. As the project prepares to go public amidst rumors of a rebellion, Jaewon must decide where he stands—as a soldier of the Neo State, or a rebel of the people.
Pacific Rim meets Korean action dramas in this mind-blowing, New Visions Award-winning science fiction debut.
Some of my favorite books I read in 2017.
Q&A with Daniel José Older
1. How did the story and characters develop in your mind?
2. How has your writing and life been inspired by music and art?
3. What led you to write in the fantasy genre?
4. What is it like writing for teens today?
See why actress Anika Noni Rose loves Daniel José Older’s SHADOWSHAPER CYPHER series!
September 2017 New Book Release
Shadowhouse Fall (The Shadowshaper Cypher, #2)
Daniel José Older
September 12 | Arthur A. Levine | YA 12 and up | Grades 7 & up | 368 Pgs
Sierra and her friends love their new lives as shadowshapers, making art and creating change with the spirits of Brooklyn. Then Sierra receives a strange card depicting a beast called the Hound of Light -- an image from the enigmatic, influential Deck of Worlds. The shadowshapers know their next battle has arrived. Thrust into an ancient struggle with enemies old and new, Sierra and Shadowhouse are determined to win. Revolution is brewing in the real world as well, as the shadowshapers lead the fight against systems that oppress their community. To protect her family and friends in every sphere, Sierra must take down the Hound and master the Deck of Worlds . . . or risk losing them all.
Purchase Shadowhouse Fall
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