Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
Published: July 7th 2020 by Flatiron Books
Review:
Myth: 3.5/5
It’s no surprise to learn that Bashardoust is captivated by fairytales. Every step of Soraya’s journey is decorated with fairytale tropes. The introduction features a classic ‘princess locked away in a tower.’ The princess even daydreams of stories that she reads to occupy herself.
There are subtle twists to the classic fairytale themes that make for a more complex tale than simply good versus evil. Soraya is locked in a tower, not to protect her from the outside world, but to protect the outside world from her. She was cursed to be poisonous to the touch.
Throughout the story Soraya interacts with lead characters in her favorite tales, the magical div, the demons who cursed her and a historic prince. This is not a story of good and evil but a story of seeing the similarities between allies and enemies (and herself) and understanding how easily a few decisions could send her on very different paths.
Magic: 3/5
The magic was fueled by the div, or demons. Their magic cursed Soraya. They are a little traditional demons in that humans treat many with mistrust, and it seems that bargains are often made for use of their magic.
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall, this was a beautifully woven story, rich in Persian lore. Romance was a small subplot, I absolutely loved the interweaving of the title. Each third of the book represented a different piece of the title (Girl, Serpent, Thorn) and I couldn’t stop looking for the sign of the “thorn” in the last part of the book.
