Books - Seraphina

Again I did not physically read any books this month.  But I did really enjoy a book we listened to at work - it was called Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.  Yes, it's young adult, but it's no Twilight.  It takes place in an alternate world that has a largely medieval feel to it.  In this world, it has been 40 years since a big war ended between humans and dragons.  And they've been living in relative peace, but there's still a definite divide between the two.  Some dragons live amongst the humans in their saarantrai form, but they are heavily monitored and largely untrusted.

The main character (Seraphina) has a big, but extremely predictable, secret.  The description on the back of the book made it seem like this was going to be the biggest mystery of the book, but it really isn't.  Which is good, because like I said - super predictable.  There are lots of other better mysteries involved in the book, so that's nice.  But I think the thing I liked the most about this book was the characters - especially Seraphina herself.  She just felt really... real.  Her reactions, her thought processes, they were all very well written.

Like I said, it is a young adult book, so of course there was some romance.  But it too is well written and not the biggest focal point of the book.  Important things are going on and there just happen to be FEELINGS on the side.  And the characters involve still manage to make responsible, reasonable decisions without letting their FEELINGS take over and rule their every actions.  So I really liked that too - I hate it when a character finds love and that's suddenly the only defining characteristic of her life.  So lame.

If you are into mysteries, dragons, and fantasy settings, you'll probably really enjoy this book.