Overview

"Melissa Bashardoust's Girl, Serpent, Thorn is ""an alluring feminist fairy tale"" (Kirkus) 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."

Full Product Details

9781250196163

Table of Contents

Reviews

A Best Book of the Year (Booklist, BuzzFeed, Tor.com, Bank Street College of Education, Amazon.com, YALSA, and more)! Book of the Month Club selection Junior Library Guild selection ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults List ALA's Rainbow Book List A can't-miss LGBTQ+ YA fantasy that gleefully rewrites the fairy tale playbook. --PopSugar.com Bashardoust draws from the myths and religions of her own Persian culture to create a world simmering with magic and treachery where no one is quite what they appear to be. With crystalline, sometimes sensuous prose, Bashardoust digs into her characters' motivations and manipulations, deftly keeping readers on the hook until the final, stunning turn. --Booklist, starred review Bashardoust again draws elements from multiple folkloric and literary precursors for a relationship-driven tale in which sexual undertones are no less intense for being kept between the lines. Alert readers will spot nods to other classics as events whirl to a climatic close amid cascades of poisoned thorns, just deserts, and self-acceptance. Surefire for readers fond of princesses capable of embracing actual demons as well as the inner sort. --SLJ, starred review Girl, Serpent, Thorn balances a raw, human core of emotion with a fast-moving, intriguing plot that draws fresh inspiration from Iranian culture past and present. Soraya is a fascinating protagonist whose approach to the world is always-engaging, even as her constant missteps drive the novel forward...For so many of us who grew up identifying with villains, challenged by the desire to get a little revenge (or a lot), Soraya provides a beautiful touchstone. She does wrong; she does right. She chooses. --Tor.com A lush, dream-like tale about a princess whose very skin in poison, and whose isolation leads her to a journey of discovery that is both harrowing and beautiful. The author dives deep into ancient Persian myth. . . . At the same time, she subverts fantasy tropes while delving into philosophical questions of personhood, individuation, and societal impositions--all with a narrative that is perfectly paced. --Sabaa Tahir A delight-ful and energetic book, one that effortlessly avoids any hint of a sophomore slump to present us with a vivid world, a compelling cast, and a narrative that managed to deftly surprise. . . . A twisty, fascinating, well-paced novel that builds to a conclusion that is more than well-earned. Soraiya is a compelling protagonist, and one whose struggles are very relatable. --Locus YA literature at its best. --BookPage Captivating. --Harper's Bazaar Girl, Serpent, Thorn takes your expectations of a fairy tale and turns them on their head, creating an elaborate, unconventional and fascinating story, complete with heroes who are morally questionable and villains who you'll fall in love with. Will they live happily ever after? We'll let you find out for yourselves--but it probably won't work out the way you expect. --SciFiNow

Named a must-read book of the year by BookPage, BuzzFeed, Bustle, Harper's Bazaar, Hypable, The Nerd Daily, and more! Junior Library Guild Selection Bashardoust again draws elements from multiple folkloric and literary precursors for a relationship-driven tale in which sexual undertones are no less intense for being kept between the lines. Along with the influences that the author cites in a detailed afterword, alert readers will spot nods to other classics such as Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel as events whirl to a climatic close amid cascades of poisoned thorns, just deserts, and self-acceptance. Surefire for readers fond of princesses capable of embracing actual demons as well as the inner sort. --SLJ, starred review A captivating queer fairy tale. --Harper's Bazaar A lovely entwining of Persian culture and myth with well-known fairy tales. One of the best books of the year, hands down. --BuzzFeed Bashardoust's exceptional attention to folktale structure and Soraya's hard-won acceptance of herself make for a lyrical, inspiring read. --Publishers Weekly This morally complex biromantic heroine's quest for identity, with support from strong female allies, is an alluring feminist fairy tale. --Kirkus Reviews Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a deliciously lush fairy tale of a novel. I was swept away by Bashardoust's prose and found myself losing track of time as I read, turning every page, sinking into her magnificent world, wishing it would never end. At its heart, it's a book about a girl who may be monstrous claiming her own power, filled with twists and a fascinating queer romance that stole my own heart. --Patrice Caldwell, editor of A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope Gorgeously written and quietly powerful, Bashardoust's latest is an enthralling tale of family, monsters, and the things we do for love. --S. A. Chakraborty, author of City of Brass Every passage is a fine cut gem, each facet brilliantly rendered to create a stunningly crafted fairytale about a girl and monsters and a girl who is also a monster. I truly loved this book. --Emily Duncan, author of Wicked Saints This is a gorgeously written book set in a beautiful and dangerous world. I loved the vividness of the story, and the way Bashardoust makes stories matter in this book. I was captivated from the beginning, and absolutely thrilled with the end. Watching Soraya come into her own as a character was a delight. --Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians The queer, good-monster book of my dreams. I loved this heroine with my entire soul. --E. K. Johnston, author of Star Wars Queen's Shadow Monstrously beautiful and enchanting, Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a fairytale for anyone who has ever feared the poison in their own heart. I loved this queer, subversive, lyrical and deeply affirming book. --Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a tale a rose might tell, lushly perfumed and lined with thorns in all the right places. With complex women, Persian demons, a gorgeously twisting narrative, and the age-old question of what it means to be a monster, it had me eagerly flipping pages until the very end. I only wish there were more! --Shveta Thakrar, author of Star Daughter Like a jeweled fairy tale, Girl, Serpent, Thorn glitters with twisty revelations, curses and dangerous transformations, magic and monsters and love--and at its heart, a girl who can kill with a touch. A thrilling, moving story of what it means to come into one's own power, this book is utterly captivating. --Gita Trelease, author of Enchantee Praise for Girls Made of Snow and Glass Booklist Top 10 First Novel for Youth ALA's Amelia Bloomer List for Feminist Literature ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults List Junior Library Guild Selection This beautifully wrought novel offers plenty of fairy-tale wonder, but Bashardoust resists the most common tropes; instead, she tells a story where women save each other with their own ingenuity, bravery, and love, and power and compassion can exist hand in hand. Compellingly flawed characters, vivid world-building, and pitch-perfect pacing make this utterly superb. --Booklist, starred review An empowering novel with strong, three-dimensional female protagonists who refuse to let jealousy and power break their bond. Filled with magic, adventure, and interesting characters, this debut will keep readers thoroughly engaged. A refreshing and progressive original retelling. Highly recommended. --SLJ, starred review Magic, mother-daughter conflict, and the quest for self-identity are given a dark and fantastical treatment in this chilling feminist adaptation of the Snow White fairy tale. A hauntingly evocative adaptation that stands on its own merits. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review If you thought you were done with the re-imagined fairy tale trope, suspend your moratorium for Girls Made of Snow and Glass: Melissa Bashardoust has created a story more The Bloody Chamber than damsel-in-distress fable. --Bustle This is Snow White as it's never been told before. Fans of Game of Thrones will relish the loyalties and betrayals; with elements of the medieval legend of the golem, echoes of the movie Frozen, and plenty of magic, Girls Made of Snow and Glass is a feminist fantasy not to be missed. --BookPage A gripping, dark, and ultimately heart-affirming retelling of the rivalry between Snow White and her wicked queen, but this time that wickedness is a wild longing--in both women--to be loved and seen for who they really are. These are fairy tales the way they're supposed to be--full of horror and doubt, with the actualization of the heroines always shining at the center, sharp as glass. --Blackbird A compulsively readable modern queer fairy tale that is part fantastical adventure and part allegory. --Horn Book Magazine

Author Information

Melissa Bashardoust received her degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, where she rediscovered her love for creative writing, children's literature, and fairy tales and their retellings. She currently lives in Southern California with a cat named Alice and more copies of Jane Eyre than she probably needs. Melissa is the author of Girls Made of Snow and Glass and Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available