Into the Grishaverse
Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise.
It’s an old cliché that every bookworm’s favorite Disney Princess is Belle, but her sentiments about reading perfectly matched my own, word for word. Growing up, there was nothing I loved more than losing myself in a book. I read just about everything I could get my hands on, but I was partial to going on adventures armed with magical powers and maybe a prince or two along for the ride.
Although I fit into almost every bookworm stereotype there was, one thing I wasn’t was the quiet girl in the corner, hoping to disappear into another world entirely (but if you were, that is 100 percent okay!). I had a stable and happy family life – a privilege, I’m coming to realize, the older I get. Real life suited me just fine; there was nothing I needed to escape from. Still, there was an incomparable magic I could only find in the pages of my beloved books, a high that just couldn’t be matched by anything else.
I clung to that euphoria as the years passed – even as I grew out of the books’ target demographic, even as my peers shifted to “loftier” literature. My love for fantasy never wavered, but now I was more discreet about it: reading only at home, or slipping off the usually colorful dust jacket that trumpeted its genre. Although I knew intrinsically that growing up meant leaving things behind to make room for new discoveries, I didn’t see what that had to do with my reading choices. These stories had given me nothing but comfort – now I was somehow supposed to give them up in the name of adulting?
One such comfort read was a YA series called Shadow and Bone. I quickly fell in love with the book’s setting: a Russian-inspired kingdom where people called the Grisha existed, who could control everything from the elements to the blood running in a person’s veins. Divided into three orders, they were somewhere between the benders of the Avatar universe and the Jedi of the Old Republic. Completely entranced by their world, I couldn’t devour the rest of the books fast enough.
Having churned out hit after smash hit, Netflix’s announcement that they’d secured the rights to the Grishaverse books had me gleefully shouting from the rooftops. I couldn’t believe that this cherished world would no longer exist solely in my mind’s eye, but finally come to life on the screen.
Not long after, the author, Leigh Bardugo, announced that she would be coming to Manila to promote the newest installment in what was coming to be known as the Grishaverse. The morning of the book signing had me bouncing off the walls: if someone had taken my blood pressure, it would have hit 2009-Belieber-on-concert-day levels. I showed up obnoxiously early, hung on to every word the author said, and nearly keeled over when I found out that, as a book blogger, I would be leaving with an advanced copy of her next book.
Her latest offering, Six of Crows, was also set in the Grishaverse, but instead of spending time in the palaces and forests of a quasi-Russia, it took us into the seedy underbelly of a fantastical version of Amsterdam. The book turned out to be Bardugo’s blockbuster breakthrough in the publishing world, and she quickly went from doing signings at bookstores to appearing on panels at San Diego Comic-Con.
By then, I had accepted that I would always unabashedly love YA, regardless of what other people thought of the genre. But now here was my favorite author, doing panels at the Comic-Con — the undisputable barometer of what was relevant pop culture. Were YA books back in vogue?
Hollywood seemed to think so. Like they did in the early 2000s, studios turned to books once more, hoping to find their next big hit in their pages. And find them they did. The Haunting of Hill House, Outlander, To All the Boys I Loved Before, Bridgerton, The Witcher — all runaway hits, all adapted from books. Thanks to online streaming services like Netflix, instead of simply drawing in established fans of the books, these new adaptations were successful in tapping into a brand-new fanbase — just ask your tita who bulk-bought all of Julia Quinn’s novels after bingeing on Bridgerton.
Having churned out hit after smash hit, Netflix’s announcement that they’d secured the rights to the Grishaverse books had me gleefully shouting from the rooftops (well, shouting from my IG stories). I couldn’t believe that this cherished world would no longer exist solely in my mind’s eye, but finally come to life on the screen.
I pictured myself as the wizened hermit my darling book characters often found themselves encountering on their quests: Welcome, welcome, non-readers! I’ve kept my part of the fandom nice and warm for years, hoping you might visit, and now here you are! Make yourselves comfortable. I’m only too happy to share my knowledge with you!
Even though the world’s state is the bleakest it’s been in our lifetimes, it’s given me the chance to slip away to another world — one where I can be assured of a happy ending. And these days more than ever, maybe that’s exactly what we all need.
My delight only grew with each new production update. The cherry on top was the casting of the series’ Big Bad: they had tapped Ben Barnes, one-time Narnian royal and teenage dream who had figured into just about every bookworm’s fancast since 2008. But what made my heart soar was the casting of the main protagonist, Alina: newcomer Jessie Mei Li, who was of Chinese descent. In the books, Alina’s race was never confirmed, and the fact that they deliberately chose to give my beloved series an Asian lead left me absolutely ecstatic.
Overnight, the series seemed to have flipped a switch in my brain: Adult Salve, powering down. 2013 Fangirl Salve, restoring to maximum capacity. I followed fan accounts on Instagram, reread all six books in the Grishaverse, and stayed up until the wee hours to watch the teaser trailer drop — early morning deadlines be damned. I was a fangirl possessed, but also, maybe just a 20-something in need of a little escapism. Unlike my carefree teenage years, swapping out real life for a magical, pandemic-free realm was now looking more and more appealing.
As for what will become of the Grishaverse after Shadow and Bone’s release? We can only wait and see. It’s been a week since its premiere, but I’ve already received messages from friends who had never read the books, and now wanted to after seeing the show. With my bookworm’s heart full to bursting, I gleefully welcomed them into the fandom.
I’m a decade older, with no clue as to what the next year will look like, but this series has already given me something invaluable. Even though I’ve spent the last year at home, it’s given me the rush of being in the theater on opening day. Even though mass gatherings have been banned indefinitely, I feel like I did as a teenager, finding friends and a home in the fandom community. And even though the world’s state is the bleakest it’s been in our lifetimes, it’s given me the chance to slip away to another world — one where I can be assured of a happy ending. And these days more than ever, maybe that’s exactly what we all need.
