On why The Book of Blood & Shadow is not The Da Vinci Code for teens
I recently finished, and thoroughly enjoyed, Robin Wasserman's YA thriller The Book of Blood and Shadow. (The formal review will be in my July column.) In surfing through some reviews/comments about the book though I was surprised by how consistently it is referred to as "The Da Vinci Code for teens". While I see the general plot similarities (centuries-old secret found in archives by innocent amateur scholar, dueling secret religious societies have been trying to uncover truth forever, people must run for their lives, etc. etc.), The Book of Blood and Shadow is most certainly not a book about uncovering an ancient religious secret anymore than ET was a movie about aliens. Seeing that difference - and why the difference matters so much to the story - is a big part of why I think Wasserman has really hit one out of the park with her novel.
And yes, it is for teens although adults can enjoy it plenty.
The other night we watched Super 8 (and loved it) and afterwards watched the documentary about making the movie where JJ Abrams discussed working with Steven Spielberg and the similarities between Super 8 and ET. Spielberg has said that ET was first and foremost a movie about divorce and that was something Abrams took to heart. Super 8 is clearly a movie about surviving childhood - about seeing your parents as people, about tragically losing a parent and yet not losing your family and also (like ET) about the friendships that can pull you through the very tough times. There are aliens in both of these movies and they are obviously critical to the plots but the stories are about much more domestic concerns.
The same thing is true of The Book of Blood and Shadow. The thriller aspect is critical to keeping the plot moving and there is all kind of translating old letters and running for your life and getting captured and escaping, and even grisly murder along the way. But at its heart Blood and Shadow is about first love and old friendships and how easily friendships can be abused when you are young. It's about choosing wisely and loving carefully and while some readers might be tempted to say all of those things happen only because of the unfolding conspiracies, all of us who look back on our teen years with a jaundiced eye know that you don't need a secret order of something-something chasing after you to make the 9th grade a living hell. All too often that is just the way it is and navigating successfully through that period goes a long way toward making your adult years happy and healthy.
Wasserman has a lot more going on in her novel - there is a careful look at parents and their failures (all quite common but significant nonetheless) and there is also a bit about teachers and students and unrealistic expectations. But as much as I loved seeing Nora get to the heart of this mystery (and I can't stress how much I loved her as well as the character of Elizabeth whose letters guide her from 400+ years before), it is the coming-of-age story that made The Book of Blood and Shadow stand head and shoulders above so many other titles I've read this year.
The Da Vinci Code was a thriller while what Robin Wasserman has written is a book about growing up. That difference is what makes her book so much better and why I think it will resonate with thoughtful readers of any age.
