Seraphina

By: Rachel Hartman

Narrated by: Mandy Williams, Justine Eyre

Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Lyrical, imaginative, and wholly original, this New York Times best seller with eight starred reviews is not to be missed.

Rachel Hartman’s award-winning debut will have you looking at dragons as you’ve never imagined them before....

In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side - while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer. The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being.

When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive - and dashing - Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult...while its discovery could mean her very life.

"Will appeal to both fans of Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series and Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown." (Entertainment Weekly)

“[A] lush, intricately plotted fantasy.” (The Washington Post)

"Beautifully written. Some of the most interesting dragons I've read." (Christopher Paolini, New York Times best-selling author of Eragon)

©2012 Rachel Hartman (P)2012 Listening Library

Critic reviews

Winner, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2013

Nominated, ALA Best Books for Young Adults Top 10

Winner, ALA Notable Children's Book, 2013

Winner, Amazon Best of the Year, 2012

Winner, Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) New Voices Selection, 2012

Short-listed, Cybils, 2012

Nominated, Florida Sunshine State Book Award, 2014

Shortlisted, Kid's Indie Next List \"Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers, 2012

Nominated, Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award, 2014

Winner, William C. Morris YA Debut Award, 2013

Winner, Young Adult Services Division, School Library Journal Author Award

"A book worth hoarding, as glittering and silver-bright as dragon scales, with a heroine who insists on carving herself a place in your mind." (Naomi Novik, New York Times best-selling author of the Temeraire series)

"Seraphina is strong, complex, talented - she makes mistakes and struggles to trust, with good reason, and she fights to survive in a world that would tear her apart. I love this book!" (Tamora Pierce, New York Times best-selling author of the Beka Cooper series)

Fun but...

While I enjoyed this book, I would not go for the second. I found the names of people, places and things to be too hard to keep track of and threw me for a loop. Seraphina was a strong character and I enjoyed her.

her romantic interest held my interest quite well, but at the end it felt rushed.

Wish there had been more dragons.

One of my best listens of 2012

I didn't realize this was a children's book until I was 1/2 through and I searched online for other similar books to read (because I was already worried about the separation anxiety I would experience when I finished it). This isn't just a well written story - it has depth and emotional complexity. I would say its in my top three books of the year (and I'm at 76 right now). I'm hoping for more from Seraphina by the same readers!

Yassss

Guys it’s just...literally perfect in every way. I would recommend it to anyone. 100000000024/10

I couldn't get enough!

very refreshing! great story! drrw me in and I didnt want to leave the world of Seraphina.

excellent story!!

this one is well worth the read, the characters good, the setting interesting, amd the narrator excellent. definitely worth a shot!

Beautifully written and spoken

This book is one of the best written books I have listened to. I would and have recommended it to most. It is so well that I have enjoyed it more then once.

Loved This

This story was so different. I thought it was a really cool dragon story. The narration was fabulous. I got lost in the story and immediately had to read the next one!

Meh

Nothing really compelling here to me.

Most of the book takes place in Seraphina's head because she is a lonely person who hates herself. There is a lot of time spent dragging a finger across the surface of the philosophy pool, and lots of time spent trying to impress the reader with Seraphina's skills without giving a strong impression of the work that goes into maintaining those skills.

There's also an annoying vague quality to her powers and her "garden." She's apparently crazy smart and capable of manipulating people because everyone around her acts like children. Most of the book is her bumbling about like she would actually get away with stuff that she realistically would not. There are no consequences to her actions. People are neither as messed up as they should be, nor as conflicted as they should be. If one is to write of such heavy topics (for example, there is about fifteen minutes dedicated to the subject of self-harm and it comes on at the stupidest moment for someone that has never done something like that before), it needs to sink much, much deeper into the subject than this book was comfortable with. ESPECIALLY because it is in first person.

My favorite part was when Lars called Seraphina out on her self-involved cowardice—she legit was going to abandon a little boy to an unknown fate after he helped her because she was worried about having her feelings hurt. She falls in love with an engaged prince (because of course) when their interactions are muted and consist mainly of vague conversations about books we readers haven't read. Yawn.

I probably will not pick up the next book.

EveryFlavorBean that didn't taste like earwax.

What made the experience of listening to Seraphina the most enjoyable?

I did not get bored and the story was not foolishly predictable. Searching for a new author and new book is like eating everyflavorbeans, sometimes you get something good but alot of times you get earwax. This story was hot chocolate.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Seraphina?

The battle between Phina's uncle and grandfather. Fruitbat was like a little half dragon Ninja.

Have you listened to any of Mandy Williams and Justine Eyre ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

I am looking forward to the next book.

Enjoyed this book!

Any additional comments?

This book was great. It was well written, had interesting characters and character development, had great worldbuilding.
It definitely took me into a world I have never been and had me completely immersed.
The story was not predictable. It had great twists and turns.
The protagonist wasn't annoying in the least, and the antagonist wasn't ridiculous and unbelievable.
I definitely recommend this one.