Madeleine’s Reviews > Shadow Scale > Status Update

The character of Jannoula in this story is a sympathetic character. I do not like her, because she is twisted, cruel, and manipulative. However, I feel sorry for her because of the things she had to deal with. She was experimented upon in a lab, and died twice, only to be resurrected. I feel bad that she had to suffer through so many terrible things just because she is a half dragon, but I still do not like her.

Shadow Scale is built off a series of story archetypes, the main one being overcoming the monster. Throughout the book, a character named Jannoula invades peoples's and controls them, forcing them to do what she wishes. Much of the book is the other characters trying to figure out how to remove her from their minds, because she is working for the enemy, so her influence on their actions is very harmful.

The setting of this book is quite complicated, is constantly changing, and hinders the characters greatly. For example, when Seraphina is trying to find one of her potential allies, the hills and valleys she goes through make travel difficult. The fog and mist is hard to travel through, and she barely makes it on deadline due to these complications. One character also gets sick because of these poor conditions.

The main conflict that the main character, Seraphina, faces in this book is character v. self. Jannoula, the half dragon who can invade others' minds, makes it very difficult for Seraphina to know who to trust. Because Jannoula is always present, Seraphina begins to doubt her decisions. Ever single decision she makes is a battle within her own mind; she is not confident at all, and this makes it character v. self.