Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, YA Fantasy, 1st in
series
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| Cover by Andrew Davidson |
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 the 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. Serphina 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.
This is the debut novel for Rachel Hartman and it is an
amazing achievement. She breaks the rules handed out to first time writers writing
YA. Don’t go over 375 pages, yet she comes
in close to 500 pages. Must have hooks and
cliffhangers at the beginning of chapters and at the end of chapters, Ms.
Hartman wrote a humdinger of an opening, but from there she didn’t worry about
pushing the concept and just wrote an intriguing story with beautiful prose.
The opening hook: I
remember being born.
That I have to say is an awesome opening line and I had to
know more. Who is this person that
remember her birth?
Another point I want to bring up is that this book is
different from most YA novels out today. It is more intellectual and thought
provoking. Doesn’t rely on the “Oh my
god, he’s to die for,” thinking and swooning from the heroine over some guy who
has a body of god complete with ripped abs. Honestly, I can’t remember any Greek statues
having such developed bodies. Here’s
another pet peeve I have with most YA’s, the constant dribble streaming out of
the heroine’s head that you just want to drown her to shut her up. Sure we’re in the main protagonist’s head but
do we have to hear wah, wah, wah, all the time. Ms. Hartman avoided these
thankfully.
The world building:
They say a story is in the details and Hartman has created a
solid medieval world and made it her own.
I can practically hear the gowns swishing in the halls and wondering who
is going to clean those hems. It is a
full and believable society complete with religion, clothing, customs,
different races, culture filled with books and music and more. Plus, she has created dragons that on the
most part keep their emotions in check, sort of like Mr. Spock, from Star
Trek. Hartman’s dragons can change their
shape from dragons to humans and they wear a little bell signifying what they
are. I must admit although it’s a great
element for the story, I found it difficult to imagine a dragon tall as a
building folding down into a small human body.
But, of course werewolves do it all the time, don’t they?
The characters:
The main character is Seraphina who discovers she is half
dragon and half-human with a magical power she doesn’t understand. She takes the initiative to solve the murder
of a royal personage while keeping her a secret of being a half-breed. She’s a spunky character who sometimes speaks
her mind without thinking of the consequence of her forthrightness. A character trait of wanting to find answers
is beyond mere curiosity, she will go further than most people to get to the
bottom of a problem even if it puts herself in jeopardy. But she is also
vulnerable, but doesn’t let that hold her back. Prince Lucian Kiggs is her partner in the
murder investigation and Seraphina falls in love with him. The Prince is a nice enough guy, perhaps even
close to perfect. So, he doesn’t have
much growth in the story.
The secondary characters are wonderful. Princess Glisselda and the other half-dragons
characters color the world with their idiosyncrasies.
Pros and Cons:
Hartman’s writing and her voice are so different from what’s
out there, except for Maggie Stiefvater. It almost reminds me of a
different time when the richness of language was prime. It was a beautiful read, but at times, the
pacing was very slow. But, this is a
kind of book you want to savor the words and not devour them.
Fresh factor:
As I mentioned above the world building is luscious, full
and different. And of course the inventive unfolding of the dragons and half-breeds is very different. I think the second book in
the series will be even more exciting.
Overall:
I would give this book a four**** star rating. I believe both the young and the old, male or
female will enjoy this book, which says a lot about Hartman's writing. This book delivers what fantasy is about taking you to different world complete with exciting characters struggling to keep their world from falling apart.
Seraphina was a finalist for the Canadian 2012 Governor
General’s Literary Award in the category of Children's Text. On January 28,
2013 it received the 2013 William C. Morris Award, awarded to best young adult
book published in the US by a debut author. In the UK Seraphina has been
placed on the longlist for the CILIP Carnegie Medal In Literature 2013, with
the shortlist to be announced in March 2013. Seraphina is also
short-listed for the 2012 Kitchies Golden Tentacle Award.
Seraphina is available at Amazon . Also there is a short
prequel to this book, which I haven’t read.
I hope you give this book a read and enjoy the story as much as I did.
Till next time,
Elizabeth
