I read this book as a total impulse/mood read. I have a pretty structured review calendar, but I needed a break, so I browsed my Kindle app for something that would grab my attention. Initially, I planned to read the first page of the book and see what happened. The next time I looked up, I had read 25% of the story, and it was past bedtime. Ha! Shadow Apprentice is a lean fantasy with memorable characters and a fast-paced plot. I loved the steampunk elements in the book. Ermin has a natural ability and intuition for fixing mechanical problems. What she doesn’t have, though, is a gift for working out complex spell equations, something she’ll need to continue with school and have a career fixing things. The connection between magic and math through spellwork equations was a fascinating one. It made perfect sense in the story, and I’m sure many readers who struggle with math will identify with Ermin’s feelings about it. Ermin and her two best friends are the central characters, although the story is told from Ermin’s perspective. I loved the way they look out for each other, even when they have different ideas about how to solve a problem they face. The story world has a lot going on. At the beginning, Ermin is a student at a boarding school. Wizards, people with natural magical ability, are hunted, arrested, and stripped of their magic. Street gangs (made up mostly of kids) recruit other unhoused kids and press them into working for them. A resistance group opposes the treatment of wizards and fights against their unjust treatment. Ermin and her friends find themselves caught between these warring factions. Figuring out who wants her help versus who plans to take advantage of her or her friends isn’t easy. The plot gripped me all the way until the final pages of the book. I would absolutely read more of this series. I think fans of magic school type stories will like this one. It reminds me a little bit of The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller.

I've enjoyed the occasional steampunk novel over the years, but I think this is probably the first one (that I can remember) that was written for a younger audience. Ermin is a 13-year-old gifted mechanic who does not have an aptitude for magic, not necessarily because she can't physically do it, but because her learning style (possibly dyslexic?) makes it impossible for her to read, learn, and retain all the spells. She has been trying to get into the Guild for a long time but can't seem to pass that stupid entrance exam. As gifted as she is, it is illegal for her to sell her skills to make a living, so she is forced to do it on the sly or have to rely solely on what the orphanage provides--which isn't much. Her two best friends are magicians, but in the illegal sense of the word. Because while it is legal for one to do "magic", one can only do it through spells and other devices. Being a real magician with magic flowing through your veins is illegal and those who have been caught are often tortured and drained of their magic. That is the setting for this story. I really liked this story and think it would be a good introduction to the Steampunk genre as well as to sci-fi/fantasy in general. Ermin is a likable character and while she disagrees with her friends, she still cares for them and tries to keep them safe. The ending is very much open-ended, but you're not left hanging. It's a good pause point but it makes me want to keep on reading. I can think of a few of my students who would enjoy this. I don't know how quickly Linda Browne will be able to write the next book, but I will be looking forward to it!