Author | Rachel Hartman |
---|---|
Cover artist | Andrew Davidson |
Genre | Young adult fantasy novel |
Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | July 10, 2012 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and electronic book) and audio-CD |
Pages | 480 |
Awards |
|
ISBN | 978-0375866562 |
LC Class | PZ7.H26736Se 2012 |
Followed by | Shadow Scale |
Seraphina is a 2012 fantasy novel by Rachel Hartman and is her debut novel. [1] [2] 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. [3] Seraphina was awarded the 2013 William C. Morris Award 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. [4] A sequel entitled Shadow Scale came out in 2015,. [5] [6] [7] 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).
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.
Hartman had initially written about the kingdom of Goredd in a graphic novel entitled Amy Unbounded . In an interview with Suvudu, 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. [7]
Reception for Seraphina has been positive, [8] [9] [10] [11] with the book gaining starred reviews from eight review sites and being listed by the Center for Children's Books. [12] [13] [14] Kirkus Reviews also praised the book, calling it "splendid". [15] A reviewer for The Washington Post commented that Hartman was able to "infuse [the] tired trope [of fictional dragons] with fresh blood". [6] SFX gave the novel four and half stars, citing the prose as "beautiful". [16] The Quill & Quire 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. [17] Publishers Weekly chose the book as one of its "Best New Books for the Week of July 9, 2012", [18] saying that "there's a lot to enjoy in Hartman's debut". [19] Reviewers for the School Library Journal praised Hartman's style as well as the narration for the audiobook. [20] [21]
Seraphina was a finalist for the Canadian 2012 Governor General's Award in the category of Children's Text. [22] Seraphina was shortlisted in 2013 for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in the teen book category, [23] and won the 2012 Cybils Award for best young adult fantasy or science fiction novel. [24] On January 28, 2013, it also received the 2013 William C. Morris Award, awarded to best young adult book published in the US by a debut author. [25] It was runner-up for the 2013 Crawford Award. [26] In the UK, Seraphina placed on the longlist for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013, with the shortlist announced in March 2013. [27] Seraphina also reached the finals for the 2012 Kitschies "Golden Tentacle" Award and the 2012 Andre Norton Award.
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Kitschies | Début Novel ("Golden Tentacle") | Shortlisted | [28] |
2013 | Crawford Award | — | Shortlisted | [28] |
Locus Award | First Novel | Nominated—4th | [28] | |
Nebula Award | Andre Norton Award | Shortlisted | [28] | |
Sunburst Award | Young Adult | Won | [28] |
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Cybils Award | Young Adult Fantasy / Sci-fi | Won | [24] |
Governor General's Award | Children's Literature | Shortlisted | [22] | |
2013 | Carnegie Medal | — | Longlisted | [27] |
Waterstones Children's Book Prize | Teen Novel | Shortlisted | [23] | |
William C. Morris Award | — | Won | [25] |
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It was a lifetime award in that previous winners were not eligible. At least from 2000 the prize was £1,500. The prize was apparently discontinued after 2016, though no formal announcement appears to have been made.
Jonathan Anthony Stroud is a British writer of fantasy fiction, best known for the Bartimaeus young adult sequence and Lockwood & Co. children's series. His books are typically set in an alternative history London with fantasy elements, and have received note for his satire, and use of magic to reflect themes of class struggle. The Bartimaeus sequence is the recipient of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire and Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. Stroud's works have also been featured on ALA Notable lists of books for children and young adults. In 2020, Netflix announced a TV series based on Lockwood & Co., with filming initiated in July 2021.
Amy Unbounded is an ongoing comic book series by Rachel Hartman that began in 1996. Amy Unbounded won the 1998 Ignatz Award for Best Minicomic.
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In the Serpent's Wake is a 2022 fantasy novel by Rachel Hartman. It is a sequel to Tess of the Road. It was published by Random House on February 1, 2022. In the Serpent's Wake was listed as one of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022 in the New York Times and appeared on the Young Adult Library Services Association's 2023 list of Best Fiction for Young Adults. It was a finalist for the 2023 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, awarded at the Hugo Awards.
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