Girl, Serpent, Thorn

I was led to this book by my school librarian, a dear friend, who left a stack of books at my doorstep when I was quarantining after contact with a positive case of covid. This was the last book I had left to read and I wish that I had gotten to it sooner. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust was so good!

Soraya is the fairy-tale princess hidden away from the rest of the world because of a dark secret. The kingdom doesn't know about how she is poisonous to anything and anyone she touches. Cursed by a demon, it seems that the only solution to her is to get help from a demon. But convincing one to help her might not be so easy. When her twin brother is set to wed her childhood best-friend, Soraya's hand is seemingly forced and she realizes how desperate she is to be free. Will Soraya be willing to sacrifice everything to have a normal life? Even her humanity?

I continue to love reading books that delve into the mythology of cultures that I'm unfamiliar with. There are so many authors exposing us to stories that we didn't know about. This was just another great example that I'd love to share with my students. I did feel like the content was appropriate for my 12 year old students.

One of my favorite things is that this book starts with the telling of a fairy-tale and instead of starting like most western fairy tales ("Once upon a time"), it begins similar to a Persian fairy tale--"There was and there was not." It's a little bit like the "Schrondinger's cat" of fairy tales. I feel this version is so much more indicative of the fight characters must wage against fate.

I was already enjoying this book immensely when I hit a huge plot twist, something I really didn't see coming. I had the sudden urge to toss the book across my classroom. I still had plenty of time to read but I just had to sit there for a while to mentally reflect on what had happened and brace myself for what came next. You know that it's a good book when you're so emotionally invested in the lives of the characters.

I felt like Soraya has a fascinating character arc that is very different from the usually fairy tale princess. She finds herself fighting against fate and then figuring out how to embrace who she is and create her own path in the world. I was very happy with how the novel ended though I wouldn't have minded if it was part of a longer series!

Melissa Bashardoust (pronounced Bash-ar-doost) has written another book as well based on fairy tales, Girls Made of Snow and Glass. 

I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves YA, fantasy, fairy-tales, and learning mythology from different cultures. You can purchase a copy here!