YA: Review of Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Title: Seraphina Author: Rachel Hartman Pages: 467  Publication Date: July 10th, 2012 Publisher: Random House Source: Received from publisher for review

Back Cover

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page

First Line

"I remember being born."

In a Sentence

Seraphina is a must-read for any fantasy lover.

My Thoughts

Seraphina is one of those books that has been getting a TON of positive buzz over the last few weeks. And guys, if you're looking to see something different, I'm afraid you're not going to see it here today, because I really enjoyed Seraphina. In my opinion, this book was a fun-filled fantasy adventure with surprising depth and a wonderfully creative mythology. As I said in my "In a Sentence" section above, if you're into fantasy (or dragons), then Seraphina is a book you can't pass up!

Within the first few pages of the book, I had already fallen in love with the writing style. Hartman's descriptions of Seraphina's world felt simultaneously quaint and exotic. And who can review this book without commenting on Hartman's use of dragons? Well...in a word, it was creative. I mean, it's no secret that I read a fair amount of fantasy, and I've seen similar dragon mythologies attempted before, but none of those were done quite as well as the mythology in Seraphina. 

Speaking of the title character, Seraphina was definitely a person that I enjoyed reading about. As one of the few half dragons in existence, she's in quite the predicament. Because of her lineage, Seraphina straddles two worlds, but finds that she doesn't completely belong in either of them. As such, her story becomes not just an enjoyable fantasy tale, but also a story of struggle: of finding a place to belong and determining her own identity. Furthermore, the division between the humans and dragons in Seraphina echoes the problems of racism and ignorance that our society still deals with today. 

I also found the minor characters in Seraphina to be almost as charming and interesting as the protagonist. The young princess Glisselda was a particular favorite of mine. She's somewhat spoiled and ignorant at times, but as the story progresses, it becomes more and more clear that Glisselda is a strong, caring, and capable young woman who is much more than she appears to be at first. Plus with her bubbly attitude and enthusiasm, I found it hard not to like her. The other secondary characters, such as (yes, there's a love interest) Kiggs, Orma, and Lars also quickly found their way into my heart. 

The only downside I can see to Seraphina is one that didn't actually affect me, but it's something I can see affecting other readers, especially those who are unaccustomed to the high fantasy genre. What I mean by this is that Seraphina is a decent-sized book, and there's not always a nail-biting action scene to drive it along. There's quite a bit of focus on character development and world-building, which was a GOOD thing in my opinion, (and very characteristic of the genre) but those readers who aren't used to it may find Seraphina to be a bit convoluted and slow. If you wanted some advice, I'd say that for fantasy lovers (especially those with a fondness for high fantasy), Seraphina is a book that you're going to want to have on your shelf. If you're not so into that scene, you might want to check it out at the library first and see how it goes. Regardless, I think that Seraphina has a lot to offer, both as a fantasy novel and as a story of a young girl trying to find her place in the world. 

Links

Add Seraphina to your to-read list on Goodreads.

Find author Rachel Hartman online.

Not sure about this review? Compare our tastes in books. (Goodreads)

___________________________________________

Rating

Really liked it