Alina Starkov

Alina Starkov is the protagonist of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy — an orphan cartographer in the Ravkan army who discovers she is a Sun Summoner, the one person whose power might be able to destroy the Fold, the strip of living darkness that has divided Ravka for centuries. Alina's discovery transforms her life entirely, removing her from her regiment and her childhood best friend Mal and drawing her into the world of the Grisha — Ravka's magical military elite — under the tutelage of the mysterious Darkling.

Bardugo's Grishaverse begins with Alina, and the Shadow and Bone trilogy establishes the world, its magic system, and its political landscape that her later Six of Crows and King of Scars books elaborate. Alina herself has divided reader opinion — some find her relatable ordinariness refreshing, others want more agency from their protagonists — but the world she moves through is one of YA fantasy's most richly developed.

The Netflix adaptation starring Jessie Mei Li brought the series to a large new audience and combined the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows storylines in ways that worked effectively despite their different tones in the source material.

Begin with Shadow and Bone (2012) and read the trilogy in order.