About the Book
-
Author:
- K.D. Kirchmeier
- Genres:
- Action-Adventure
- Boy-Girl Romance
- Dystopia
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- Cis Girl
- Straight
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: There Be Dragons
BFF Charms: Big Sister x2
Talky Talk: Teenage Wasteland
Bonus Factors: Dragons, Decent Humans
Anti-Bonus Factor: Awful Adults
Relationship Status: The Future is Bright
Content Warning: The Shadow Road features memories of an alcoholic parent and orphaned children. There are also scenes of gore and violence against both dragons and humans.
Cover Story: There Be Dragons
Either that young person, city, and truck are a looooong way off, or that dragon is MASSIVE.
The Deal:
No one knows where the blitz came from, only that they arrived and soon after the world was in chaos. The dragon-like creatures emit electromagnetic pulses that shut down anything electronic in a near radius, breathe lightning, and have a taste for human flesh. The world never stood a chance.
Years later, people roam around the country, trying to survive. Thomas, who recently lost his father, hitches a ride with a woman who’s carrying “hope” on the trailer of her semi-truck. Cassie, whose father went missing in the early days of the apocalypse, lives with a group of survivors who have hatched (heh) a plan to defeat the blitz. When the two’s paths cross, they’ll kick off a timeline that might just see humanity returning from the brink.
BFF Charms: Big Sister x2
Cassie and Thomas, both, seem younger than their 15–16 years. (Or, at least, younger for “normal” YA teenagers, which as we all know are never really normal.) They’ve been through SO much in the past few years, and really need people who are unconditionally on their side. Thomas lucks out when he teams up with Dani; another driver of a different truck could have been someone far, far worse. And while Cassie has an older sister, Rebecca seems to often see Cassie as nothing more than a nuisance. They’re good kids, if a little impetuous, who have bright futures ahead of them. They need support rather than authority.
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
There are a lot of mysterious factors at work in this new world, not the least of which are the dragon-like blitz. When Thomas and Cassie meet, Thomas has been searching for “the girl” mentioned in a strange message that came through the static on the radio. They feel an instant connection, like they were meant to find each other, but their chemistry felt more like a plot device than an actual possibility of a relationship.
Talky Talk: Teenage Wasteland
Although there are quite a few adults in this devastated America, the book obviously focuses more on the teenagers—and, truth be told, save for Dani and the leader of the group Cassie is with, Bones, most of the adults are pretty ineffectual people. (Probably not too far off from what real life would be like, but let’s not get into politics.) They both come across like real, well-rounded people, like actual teenagers in a world gone wild. The world-building is where this book struggles. Kirchmeier never determines where the blitz (and the other myriad of fantastical elements) come from, and while that’s believable given Cassie and Thomas’s places in the world—and the world’s general lack of structure and communication—it leaves too many questions unanswered.
Bonus Factor: Dragons
The blitz are described as dragon-like creatures who breathe lightning instead of the fire like actual dragons of story. But they are dragons? They look like dragons, they fly like dragons, they lay eggs like dragons, they threaten knights and take damsels hostage like dragons. I’m not entirely sure why Kirchmeier didn’t just call them dragons, other than that he revealed other fantastical elements of the book later, and perhaps he didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
Bonus Factor: Decent Humans
I was nervous for Thomas when he first hitched a ride with Dani, but she turns out to be a great person. Similarly, Bones is a father figure for Cassie, and an all-around genuinely nice guy. Additional adults are introduced later in the book who are also lovely. Of course, there are a fair share of crappy adults in the book, but the fact that there are even a handful of good ones makes me feel better about humanity in general.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Awful Adults
It wouldn’t be a post-apocalyptic story without Mad Max-lite individuals skulking around the country looking for easy marks and ways to grab power for themselves. There is a loose gang of despicable folks featured in The Shadow Road, but the two we get to know best do little more than cause mischief before they’re dealt with. (Another lackluster plot point, along with the dearth of explanations for the fantastical bits.)
Relationship Status: The Future is Bright
You’ve not had an easy go of things, Book, but I enjoyed our time together. I would have liked to get to know more about your past, but it looks like you’ve got a great future ahead of you, so perhaps we should just leave the past alone. If you ever see a unicorn, though, PLEASE let me know.
Literary Matchmaking
Although Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave is about an alien invasion, not dragons, it still has that post-apocalyptic, teenagers will save the world vibe.
The dragons in Patrick Ness’s Burn are more helpers than eaters, but there are similar fantastical elements (like a prophecy) in play.
Ian X. Cho’s Aisle Nine is a paranormal post-apocalyptic story that’s a little more humorous, although people still often end up dead.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Bloomsbury YA, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. The Shadow Road is available now.
