Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Bashardoust, Melissa

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.

Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Published: 07/07/2020
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.30w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781250196149
Age Range: 12-18

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.6
Point Value: 16
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 512234 / Girl, Serpent, Thorn


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2020
Publishers Weekly 03/23/2020
School Library Journal 05/01/2020 pg. 62
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2020
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2020 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Booklist 06/01/2020 pg. 76
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2020 pg. 133
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2020 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
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.