''Seraphina'' is a 2012 fantasy novel by Rachel Hartman and is her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

. The book was published on July 10, 2012, by Random House Publishing and was ranked at number 8 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in its first week of publication. ''Seraphina'' was awarded the 2013

William C. Morris Award The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is an annual award given to a work of young adult literature by a "first-time author writing for teens". It is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American ...

for the best young adult work by a debut author. Foreign language rights to the novel have been sold in twenty languages, such as Spanish. A sequel entitled '' Shadow Scale'' came out in 2015. A companion novel '' Tess of the Road'' set in the same milieu was published in 2018, followed by its own sequel, '' In the Serpent's Wake'' (2022).

Synopsis

''Seraphina'' is set in the kingdom of Goredd and follows the sixteen-year-old Seraphina, a court musician. She is drawn into a murder mystery when the Crown Prince of Goredd, Rufus, is found decapitated in a manner that insinuates that he was murdered by dragons. The murder occurs on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the signing of a treaty that ended the war between humans and dragons. Dragons can take human form but find human emotions baffling, which only lends to the continuing distrust and hatred between them and humans.

Background

Hartman had initially written about the kingdom of Goredd in a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

entitled ''

Amy Unbounded ''Amy Unbounded'' is an ongoing comic book series by Rachel Hartman that began in 1996. Robbins, Trina (February 1, 2001). "Contemporary graphic novels for girls: a core list". ''Booklist'', Pg. 985(1) Vol. 100 No. 11 ''Amy Unbounded'' won the 19 ...

''. In an interview with

Suvudu Suvudu was a genre site created by Random House, to provide additional content, such as author interviews, chats, chapter previews, reviews, previews, and news around science fiction, fantasy, comics, graphic novels, and video game guides and bo ...

, Hartman stated that she had difficulty drawing dragons and that she had chosen to make them transform into humans as an "easier way" to illustrate them.

Reception

Reception for ''Seraphina'' has been positive, with the book gaining starred reviews from eight review sites and being listed by the Center for Children's Books.

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

also praised the book, calling it "splendid". A reviewer for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' commented that Hartman was able to "infuse hetired trope f fictional dragonswith fresh blood". SFX gave the novel four and half stars, citing the prose as "beautiful". The ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' also remarked that the book stands out from "standard dragon fare", with the language and music themes in the book working well with Hartman's prose. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' chose the book as one of its "Best New Books for the Week of July 9, 2012", saying that "there's a lot to enjoy in Hartman's debut". Reviewers for the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'' praised Hartman's style as well as the narration for the audiobook.

Awards

''Seraphina'' was a finalist for the Canadian 2012

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in the category of Children's Text. ''Seraphina'' was shortlisted in 2013 for the

Waterstones Children's Book Prize The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children's literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is the ...

in the teen book category, and won the 2012

Cybils Award The Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a set of annual book awards given by people who blog about children's and young adult books. Co-founded by Kelly Herold and Anne Boles Levy in 2006, the awards were c ...

for best young adult fantasy or science fiction novel. On January 28, 2013, it also received the 2013

, awarded to best young adult book published in the US by a debut author. It was runner-up for the 2013

Crawford Award The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (short: Crawford Award) is a literary award given to a writer whose first fantasy book was published during the preceding calendar year. It's one of several awards presented by the International Associat ...

. In the UK, ''Seraphina'' placed on the longlist for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013, with the shortlist announced in March 2013. ''Seraphina'' also reached the finals for the 2012

Kitschies The Kitschies were British literary prizes presented annually from 2009 to 2024 for "the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" published in the United Kingdom. The awa ...

"Golden Tentacle" Award and the 2012

Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to the ...

Sci-fi awards

Young adult nominations and victories

References

External links

Rachel Hartman
(official) * {{ISFDB name, 118942, Rachel Hartman 2012 American novels American young adult novels Young adult fantasy novels 2012 debut novels Random House books