Elle's Reviews > Seraphina

Okay here I go writing the probably dozen or so reviews I have let pile up over the past month and a half! she says full of misplaced optimism

I was not expecting to enjoy Seraphina as much as I did, which is probably indicative of my own biases towards, let’s say, ‘vintage YA’. But it had so many of the ingredients I love in a fantasy novel—a compelling and determined protagonist, unique magic system, expansive world building, dragons—so I’m happy to admit my mistake here. Additionally, I’m not totally sure if it’s necessary to read Seraphina and its sequel before Tess of the Road, but I guess I will be thorough!



The dragons themselves are one of the more inventive takes on the popular fantasy staple I’ve seen. They have an almost Vulcan-like approach to empathy and humanity, as well as being excellent foils to the human characters even when they aren’t antagonists. The Saars (the predominant dragon breed) have the ability to shift into human form and live amongst the common people, as long as they’re able to keep a low profile. The animosity between those two populations, and the smaller, lower-status dragons called quigutls, effectively reflect real-world xenophobia as well as can be expected for a story where the oppressed population(s) are dragons.

I think some of the things that keep me from enthusiastically recommending this book have more to do with the era it came out in than anything inherently wrong with the storytelling. The choice to use a dragon race as surrogates for marginalized communities might in and of itself be fine, but paired with things like the use of the term “Daanite” to refer to gay characters but never directly saying they are gay, feels like the author is trying to talk about serious subjects without really addressing them. And I’m putting the specifics of this next part of the plot under spoiler tags because it’s a huge reveal, but I really can’t get around mentioning it. There’s a trope near the end of the book that could be interpreted as transphobic, though I will say on behalf of Rachel Hartman that she apologized for it several years ago and was not aware of the trope at the time.

(view spoiler)[ The final unmasking of the villain ends up being a male dragon in human form who had been posing as a female governess for a 15 year-old girl since she was a baby. Clearly Hartman was going for a more sinister Mrs. Doubtfire situation than a kind of JK Rowling transphobic fear-mongering, though it could still be harmful to those not expecting it. (hide spoiler)]

My read is that it’s a result of naïveté rather than prejudice, and her later books do feature more LGBTQ+ characters. This market and genre have evolved a good amount in the decade since Seraphina’s publication, and some things that would have been unremarkable then would rightfully be viewed through a more critical lens if they came out today. I can understand people wanting to avoid the book for that reason, but I’m not going to hold it against the author.

Also worth mentioning is that this story lacks some of those punchy, exciting action sequences that help propel forward a lot of Young Adult fantasies. There’s a good amount of walking around the castle….and walking around the town…..then back to waiting in the castle, etc. We follow Seraphina on a journey of self-discovery more than a fantasy adventure, but for readers that expect the plot to involve a lot of, well, plot, this may not be the story for you.



I am very excited to see where the new book takes Seraphina and co., though. I double checked the synopsis before posting, and unfortunately there’s not many specifics I can say about this book or the next one that wouldn’t be considered spoilers for people who haven’t read either. But the world-building of Seraphina has already provided a sequel, Shadow Scale, plus a second spin-off series that stars a minor character from the first series, Tess of the Road, so I think it’s safe to say there’s a lot more left to explore.


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