Shinigami Eyes

Cheree Smith builds Shinigami Eyes around an old idea given a fresh frame. The heroine has a kind of vision that lets her see when a person’s death is approaching. The mythology around her ability draws from Japanese folklore on shinigami, the death gods, and the book layers that worldbuilding into a contemporary YA setting.

Smith writes the protagonist as believably overwhelmed. Knowing what she knows is heavy, and the book takes the emotional weight seriously rather than treating the gift as just a cool plot device.

The romance element is restrained. The friendships do most of the relationship work, which is refreshing in a YA fantasy where the love triangle often takes over.

Readers who liked Holly Black’s earlier urban fantasy or who follow YA writers like Roshani Chokshi will find a related sensibility here.