Book Review: "Gods of Jade and Shadow" by Silvia Morena-Garcia
“Gods of Jade and Shadow” by Silvia Morena-Garcia
Synopsis: The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
“Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-mending, Gods of Jade and Shadow is a wondrous and magical tale about choosing our own path.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles
The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.
Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.
In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.
Rating: 4
Review: I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I am so glad I did. I had seen this one pop up on my Book of the Month club page in July, and then I saw it again on instagram a few times, and the bright cover and mysterious title were enough to get me to add it as an add-on to my August BOTM box. I am very pleased with myself for this decision.
Of the three of us here at She’s Full of Lit, I think I’m the biggest fan of historical fiction and what I would call light fantasy (you’ve probably noticed that by my recent reviews!), and so this book was right up my alley: Mayan mysticism! Mysterious underworldly creatures! Jazz-age Mexico! Amazing female lead! Admittedly, the book does take a bit of disbelief to dive in: you have to accept that, even if you don’t know it, Mayan gods and their lackys may live among us. I’ve heard this one described as a Cinderella story, but I’d have to respectfully disagree. Casiopea >> Cindy.
I loved Casiopea. Loved her — strong willed, sure of self, always up for an adventure (even if there was a little trepidation), open minded. When she accidentally tied her life to Hun-Kame’s, she didn’t freak out too much, she just recognized that she was going to go on an adventure. And what an adventure it was! We met mythical creatures, spent time in the Mayan underworld, traveled all over the country. I knew literally nothing about 1920s Mexico or Mayan lore before reading this book, and almost instantly, I felt immersed in the culture.
More than anything, this was a story about finding your humanity — both Casiopea finding herself, and Hua-Kame realizing that he was more human than he originally thought. Their relationship is at the center of the book, and it is so richly drawn but not at all a fairy tale. In fact, the author doesn’t shy at all away from the more violent aspects inherent in all mythology and largely ignored by modern interpreters (cough Disney cough) - several of the characters are violently cruel and darkly manipulative.
The entire book was building to an amazing end, and I wasn’t disappointed in it. It’s hard to specify exactly what I liked so much without totally spoiling it for anyone who is planning on reading this one, but I’ll just say that it was totally believable within the plot of the story. It ended on such a hopeful note that it left a smile on my face.
Trigger warnings: death, trickery, condescending men
TL;DR: A Cinderella story but only if Cinderella lived in Jazz-age Mexico, was a total boss, and didn’t spend anytime mooning around from a man (or mythic creature, as the case may be). A wonderfully written tale of mysticism, mythology, and mortality.
If you liked this, try these:
