Alina Starkov, the main protagonist of the book by Leigh Bardugo, was raised in an orphanage alongside her best friend Mal Orostev. The two friends both enlist in their country, Ravka’s, First Army. They fight alongside each other for a long time… until they are tasked with entering the Shadow Fold- a long stretch of darkness dividing Ravka’s lands which has flying monsters that kill anyone who tries to pass through.
Alina and Mal’s unit gets caught up with the Volcra (flying monsters) and Mal is severely injured. When Alina sees him being attacked, she’s overcome with power she didn’t know existed.
The Grisha are the King of Ravka’s Second Army. They are a large group of individuals who are gifted with the abilities to manipulate the elements. At a young age, each Ravkan child is tested to see if they are Grisha. Alina was not Grisha- or so she thought.
As it turns out, Alina Starkov is the Sun Summoner; the only one of her kind. The only one who can destroy the Shadow Fold.
She is taken from her regimen and brought to the Little Palace in Os Alta, the capital of Ravka. She is trained in everything Grisha and is meant to work alongside a man who goes by ”the Darkling”, who is feared by people all across Ravka.
Though, soon after arriving, she notices the Little Palace and its people are full of secrets and lies. When Alina unravels all the manipulation she’s been put through, she realizes what she needs to do- and how she can destroy the Shadow Fold without the help of the Darkling.
Bardugo’s writing puts the story into a clear perspective where the reader takes Alina’s side, putting twists and turns along the way and hinting to the lies fed to her by the Grisha. The reader can decipher these hints if they are paying close attention as they read, but for some, it’s just another sentence on a page. She writes the book so it can be read and enjoyed by any person of any reading level.
