Inspired by the rich history of Chinese mythology, this sweeping fantasy is set in the ancient Kingdom of Xia and tells the coming of age story of Skybright, a young girl who worries about her growing otherness. As she turns 16, Skybright notices troubling changes. By day, she is a companion and handmaid to the youngest daughter of a very wealthy family. But nighttime brings with it a darkness that not even daybreak can quell. When her plight can no longer be denied, Skybright learns that despite a dark destiny, she must struggle to retain her sense of self—even as she falls in love for the first time.
This is another re-read, and one I’m glad of. I first read Serpentine after hearing Cindy Pon speak at NerdCon: Stories, and I’ve been looking forward to revisiting it since.
The thing that hit me the hardest about Serpentine was the way that Skybright’s half-demon heritage can function as an apt metaphor for the expectations placed on the shoulders of women. Her lower half turns into a red serpent’s body (a color not without relevance when we talk about young women), and her half-demon heritage immediately casts her as a wicked temptress, automatically sexualized and demonized at turns. She is forced to reveal her half-demon nature against her will in one particularly distressing scene. Even to those who don’t know Skybright’s heritage, her full breasts and seductive face are a subject of conversation. These expectations are a constant companion throughout the story, and as someone who developed early I can relate to the struggle of working through them in my younger years.
That is not to say, though, that the plot only works on a symbolic or functional level. This is a book about a girl who uses her demonic heritage to fight demons and hordes of the undead, after all. That’s where this book really shone for me, in the Chinese-inspired worldbuilding and the challenges that Skybright faces in trying to do the right thing despite the things people expect of her given her heritage. It’s a fun ride, with just enough action for my taste and a world that you can really sink into.
I have no love for love triangles, to be honest, so even the low-level love triangle in this book was as frustrating as it was relevant. Skybright’s first love is a type I’ve seen in fantasy before—the young man with a vow of chastity and a particular religious destiny as a driving force in his life—and she has a clear attraction to but no love for an immortal she runs into along the way. In a story where sexuality is so much a part of the landscape, these youthful passions and attractions function both as a classic love triangle and as a discussion of love, attraction, and the relevance of choice in each.
Speaking of sexuality, Zhen Ni, Skybright’s mistress and best friend from infancy, is revealed to be a little higher on the Kinsey scale than society would expect of her. Her sexuality and her love of one young woman in particular take up a good chunk of her role in the plot, and it made me a little uncomfortable. I know that youthful passions are intense and can be all-consuming, but Zhen Ni’s storyline felt a little too close to the U-Haul Syndrome stereotype for comfort. That gets better in the sequel, though, and I’ll talk about that when I’ve revisited Sacrifice.
I “read” Serpentine in audiobook format first, and I can say that it’s an enjoyable listen. There’s nothing too fancy about it, but it’s well-narrated and enjoyable.
Final Verdict:
All in all, Serpentine is a perfectly acceptable YA fantasy book, even if I do prefer the sequel. The worldbuilding is enjoyable, the characters interesting, and the love triangle actually functional in the story. Its Chinese-inspired setting is a refreshing change, and it’s well worth your time. 4/5
Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice – to rescue him, she must return to Inako and face the dangers that have been waiting for her in the Heian Castle. She tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will, playing the part of the dutiful…
