A World of Shadows

by Haley Kleinman

Seventy-eight years after the treaty ending the global war known as The Break, America has tried to put together the nation’s broken pieces under the United American Republic, a severe and oppressive government that controls the lives of its citizens. As sixteen-year-old Alexis Birch copes with a tremendous and unexpected loss, she begins to uncover mystifying—and life-threatening—secrets that could change the fate of her crumbling nation. But no matter how hard Alexis tries to do the right thing, she cannot ignore the darkness threatening to tear her apart. From across the sea, the European Protection Forces—a league of young spies and soldiers with remarkable supernatural abilities—has chosen the determined and wickedly intelligent Kai Preston to embark on the most dangerous mission the first post-war journey into the territory of their American enemies, to discover the sinister reason behind their sudden violation of the world treaty. But the deeper Kai gets into the investigation, the harder it is to tell who the real enemy is. In order to find the answers they are looking for, Alexis and Kai must form an unlikely alliance. As the truth gets closer, so do the two of them, and they are forced to decide what is more saving their nations or saving each other.

436 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2023

Reviews

[Aliena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haley Kleinman’s A World of Shadows, holds a world that draws you into its dystopian reality. There are supernatural elements, political intrigue, some found family, has a Latina MC, and is dual point-of-view. Going off of how much I enjoyed the book and the quality of writing I would give this 4.75 stars. (Goodreads only will let me do 4 or 5 stars)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! As a teenager, Kleinman has the ability to authentically capture how teens navigate the world, how they talk, and what they are thinking. This really shows in the writing of the two main characters, Alexis and Kai, who are extremely well developed characters. With each page, I feel like I grew to know them more and I could not stop reading!
In terms of the quality of the writing, Kleinman has created a story that is easy to read, not because it is YA, but because it has the near perfect pacing for a novel of its size as well as the timespan of the plot. She uses very visually and emotionally descriptive language, making a world that connects pieces of the world that we know today, to a dystopia that we can imagine in our minds. The dynamic between Kai and Alexis is quite interesting because there is always an element of something unknown, some sort of truth that is not being shared, and their romantic subplot is woven in well.
I highly recommend that anyone who likes YA fiction, should read this book, especially if you like vivid dystopian worlds. Kleinman is a phenomenal teen author, and I can’t wait for there to be a sequel so I can read even more of her work!
(also has a BEAUTIFUL cover)

You can follow Haley Kleinman @haleyywritess on TikTok and Instagram.

(may update review in a few weeks, after I have processed the book a bit more)

[elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy cliffhanger?!?? This was amazing

[lexi .ೃ࿐ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ★★★★★

"...darkness doesn't harbor lies. it brings forth the most daunting of truths."

📕 THE TENSION