A review by celosian
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

5.0

Rachel Hartman is going on my "favorite authors to look for" list. I loved this book, and I'm extra glad I discovered it when the sequel just came out.

Not as much math to the dragons as I had hoped, but I liked what there was, and in general the book overall was much more nuanced than I expected. I don't really know how YA classifications are made nowadays, but there's no reason for this not to be read by adults.

The overall plot is of the assistant music mistress trying to prevent assassination and/or war, while keeping her own secrets and making sure an important performance goes smoothly. There are a lot of subtler plot lines about identity, prejudice and discrimination, good and evil, the nature and purpose of love.

Hidden for discussion of these latter plots, including character traits that are not immediately apparent:

Spoiler

I appreciated that both Viridius and Lars turned out to be gay, though I didn't immediately get that that's what was meant by "Daanite." I appreciated that this, like Seraphina being female, does not prevent him form rising to a position of relative power but neither is it ignored. It's treated more with an attitude of "some people have a problem with [him being gay, her being female] but that's stupid and most people know better." This is is contrast to the open and vitriolic prejudice against dragons and anything to do with them. The variable prejudice against bastards provides a comparison and reference point for both.

I loved the brief touch on the nature of gender, where a dragon refers to Phina as "it" because dragons don't distinguish between gender and sex - or don't have much concept of gender, only reproductive parts. The dragon is swiftly corrected that for humans gender is more than reproductive capability, Phina is a "she", this is important and a cause to take offense, and that's it. The dragon accepts the correction and everyone proceeds about their business.

Hidden for discussion of main plot points:

Spoiler

I loved her mental garden, the daily work required to maintain it, the connection it ended up having to the real world. I wonder if new halfbreeds will appear in her garden as they manifest? If Jannoula also had a dragon mother and this is why she had the awareness to use the connection against Seraphina?

I'm sad to say that it could have done a lot better on race :( I think Porphyrians are dark skinned? And respected as philosophers? but that's all I've got. There were no people of color as major characters, that I noticed. And much was made of the Queen and Princess' pale skin and blond hair and how regal they looked. As far as I could tell none of the saarantras were dark skinned either, which seems kind of odd, whether or not they choose their human forms. I might have just not noticed some of the racial diversity, to be charitable, but if so it was easy to miss, because I was looking.

And finally a prediction for later books:

Spoiler

St. Yiirtrude is herself, and is the patron saint of, half-dragons. She has a dragon head, and this is why it's always smash or blacked out; Phina was given an undamaged version from the Quig. This is why she's a "heretical" saint, since the country we're in has Ogdo the dragon fighter as it's patron saint. And why her motto is "No Heaven but here", since everyone believes dragons have no soul, so half-dragons may not be welcome in the afterlife either.