Information
Goodreads: Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Series: None
Age Category: Young Adult
Source: Library
Published: 2020
Official Summary
A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse...
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it's not just a story.
As the day of her twin brother's wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she's willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn't afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.
Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming...human or demon. Princess or monster.
Review
Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a quick YA fantasy that tackles the question of what it would be like to be cursed with poisonous skin. Protagonist Soraya yearns for human touch and the freedom to live without fearing she'll kill someone else with an accidental graze, but others see power in her poison; in a world filled with monsters, Soraya need feel no one. This dichotomy is the heart of the story, and really the big-picture questions kept me reading more than the plot did.
There is something unique about an author writing a YA protagonist who seems to make all the wrong decisions. The reader is tempted to scream, "Stop!!!" and, "Why???" as Soraya makes bad call after bad call. It's understandable, as her family has sheltered and stifled her, so she doesn't have the information she needs to make the smartest choices, and it's clear she's desperate to claim some more freedom in any way she can. It's frustrating, too, of course, as the reader with more info than she has, so it's nice when she she grows out of it and starts thinking things through a bit more, as well.
He actions overall do seem a bit random, however. She chases small leads. Everyone seems to conveniently have the answer she needs to complete the next task on her list. There is a conflict, but it feels as if there isn't. It's all a bit episodic with things falling more or less neatly into place. And the big twist isn't that surprising, as the author does a thorough job foreshadowing it.
The romance also leaves something to be desired. Honestly, I'm not exactly certain how the two love interests supposedly fall in love. It's mentioned they talk to each other, but usually about business matters and there's fighting and distrust, so . . . the part where either of them says anything that's attractive to the other is somehow left out. The whole romance could have been left out of the book entirely, and I'm not sure it would have made much difference.
This one just wasn't memorable for me. Even writing the review a few days after finishing the book, I'm struggling to think of anything that truly stood out for me here, besides the fact the protagonist is a bit foolish -- which is uncommon but not necessarily a selling point for readers who like their main protagonists to be likable. This is the second book by Bashardoust I've thought was just okay, so she may not be the author for me.
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