Lucera is the grandmother
The zombie creature that crashes the party and pursues her introduces Sierra to the name Lucera. Ironically, Sierra is informed that the power of Shadowshapers is hereditary and the creature asks about Lucera’s whereabouts without connecting the dots. She learns about Lucera’s identity after their encounter which Juan also later learns to his surprise: “Juan sat with his mouth gaping open at the thought that their grandmother had been Lucera all this time without telling him, and Sierra was too tired and afraid to throw the irony in his face.”
Irony of heritage
The dramatic irony in the narrative is that Sierra is the last person in the family to learn about their heritage. Even after getting a hint about Shadowshapers, no one is willing to fill her in including her own mother. Moreover, her personality represents the essence of a shadow shaper as she has a deeper spiritual connection to art and cultural identity. Even with the attack at the party, Sierra is left in the dark about the truth and only Robbie enlightens her later.
Irony of gentrification
The backdrop of the narrative is the redevelopment of their Brooklyn neighborhood that threatens their community. Though the idea behind gentrification is to improve the communities, it steals away the cultural heritage and authenticity. Sierra puts up her mural on the buildings as a protest against the erasure of their spiritual connection to Brooklyn. Furthermore, it alludes to the cultural appropriation of their culture as the antagonist seeks to wipe out Sierra’s clan for his benefit. These concepts are ironic because they beat the purpose as they cause cultural erosion rather than preservation.
Irony of sexism
Though Sierra is the natural successor of Lucera’s position, everyone in the family is skeptical because of her gender. She is the perfect candidate because of her abilities but she knows about the truth after the whole family including Juan. Ironically, her grandmother as a female has held the position but the men in the family deny Sierra the opportunity. She is underestimated because she is a woman yet she becomes stronger and handles the power better than everybody.
