Page 19 - Panama City Living May/June 2019

BOOK REVIEW
SERAPHINA
BY RACHEL HARTMAN
Reviewed by Emma Johnson
Emma Johnson, 15, is an International Baccalaureate student at Rutherford High School. She spends most of her time reading, writing, playing video games and the piano, or cuddling her pet snake, Mushu. She is enthusiastic about animals, and is the devoted caretaker of two snakes, a chameleon, a bird, a cat, and loads of fish. Emma plans to travel and study environmentalism or biology. She loves listening to Nirvana and adores fantasy/dragon artwork. She also creates a great deal of dragon artwork. Her favorite species of dragon is an Amphithere due to its winged, snake-like body. Her favorite animals are rhinos, spiders, whales, elephants, sharks, mudfish, bees, snakes, and pigs. Although, to be honest, she loves all of them.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FENDER
I know you are not supposed to
judge a book by its cover but,
to be honest, the only reason I
read this book was because the
cover had a dragon on it and I
am so glad I did. "Seraphina"
(2012), a fantasy novel by
Rachel Hartman, is hands
down one of the best books
I’ve ever read.
In a world where dragons can take on human form but lack the ability to take on human emotions, the tension between dragons and humans is intense. Sixteen-year-old Seraphina Dombegh fights for survival.
As the anniversary of the treaty between the dragons and humans draws near, she notices that problems begin to arise. Between music classes and hiding her own dragon scales from the world, Seraphina works to uncover the truth behind the murder of a member of the royal family, the heritage of her own family, and a plot to overturn the kingdom’s ever-thinning peace.
At age 11, Seraphina noticed scales beginning to appear along her stomach and left arm. This led her to the discovery that her own mother had been a dragon in human disguise. In a kingdom where human-dragon relationships are highly prohibited, Seraphina is forced to hide her scales from the world in fear of discrimination and exile.
While reading the book, I found myself constantly relating to Seraphina and her awkward, yet funny, personality. Within the first several chapters, I could understand the small habits she has and her need for others to understand dragons the way she does. Hartman does a wonderful job describing emotions and feelings through Seraphina’s eyes. Throughout the story, Hartman conjures an entertaining plot full of twists and the unexpected.
Hartman’s description of Seraphina playing her flute was so descriptive, I could almost hear her playing it as I was reading; it was calming and surreal. She would pull me in with music and then, bam! A dragon! As Seraphina meets new people (and dragons) and experiences new things, she begins to understand and accept herself more. Packed with action and adventure and just the right amount of romance, I can hardly wait to read the sequel!
www.PanamaCityLiving.com • May–June 2019 • 19