The Serpent's Secret

I got Wrinkle In Time vibes from this. It's a solid read for the age range that covers a lot of ground and heavy hitting topics in a very short span. Everything from the message that family are those who care about you not just who you share genetic material with you, to dealing with pubescent emotions, being comfortable in your own body, physics, astronomy, racism, classic, and trying to find place as a mixed race being raised in a strange land. All that while exploring strange, colorful, and fantastic lands with lots of fun riddles.

This series is so underrated. One extra round of edits and it would have turned out perfect. It's been a while since I read this so I can't write an adequate review but here's what I remember - great writing style, it was entertaining - it wasn't over descriptive, and it was very fun to imagine - fun characters - great story - ships - plot was a bit confusing at times, it felt like scenes were missing - told rather than showed at times - REPRESENTATION - humor

** spoiler alert ** ***Post-Release Review*** The Serpent's Secret could have been a wonderful story. It had everything it needed for the recipe: fantasy, monsters, giant snakes, flying creatures with hooves, magical stuff, and lots of girls and boys to make all those things come to life. First, the story itself was a bit choppy. As other reviewers have put it, the characters and the story really jump all over the place, and the next part of the story really has no segue from the previous. It can be confusing, especially if the reader is not used to the genre or the mythological references. Most importantly, when I give a book to a student or one of my children to read, I want that reader to be welcome in that book. I felt there was a lot of underlying hostility toward whites in this book, especially in the first few chapters, where the evil characters were white kids and the monsters were just rakkhosh demons. I want children to learn about all mythological beings and cultures, but all readers need to be welcome. Diversity is not alienation of the white (or the complete exclusion of it). I also don't want to impress upon readers that in order for a main character that is a girl to be "cool," she has to be snarky and disrespectful to her parents. ***SPOILER AHEAD*** While Kiran, as slightly rounded characters do, changes her attitude toward her parents in the end, she really is just as bad as the other students she spews vitriol against in the beginning of the book because she gives her parents the same regard that the other (only white) students give her because of her "otherness." She wishes that her parents were normal enough not to attract attention instead of wishing other people were curious enough to visit her house and see how nice her parents are (and how delicious all her Ma's food is-hamburgers can suck it, I want to eat at Kiran's house). In all, the only thing that saved the story was the mythology and other characters. I was not overly impressed by Kiran. Maybe the next book will be better and we'll see some all-inclusive coolness and a little chilling out of the attitude problem. ***Pre-Release Review*** Okay, here comes a what will most certainly be an unpopular review, based on some of the already five-star-but-haven't-read-the-book-yet-"anti-hater"-protest-fake-review-ratings. Here's a book I looked forward to my child reading because we enjoy fantastical stories in this house, and this book looked promising. I was entirely disappointed. Both that I spent my money on this and because I like stories that are fantastical but have great protagonists. Without spoiling any of the plot for those who have not been able to buy it yet (I got mine at a book fair and was surprised that it had not hit the shelves yet), I will concentrate on more or less on the main character, whom I felt broke the whole book. First, she is disrespectful to her parents already in the first chapter. She pretty much thinks they're losers (she calls her mom's words "typically loopy" in one instance) and does not appreciate all of the stinking hard work they did to give her a comfortable life in what is a new country for them (the basic definition of a spoiled, privileged brat). Three-quarters of my non-Anglo-Saxon immigrant parents came here and worked their tails off to give their children a life they could not have had where they were from would also not have appreciated this attitude. Additionally, right off the bat, white people are demonic and the enemy. The white people (Jovi and her "giggly gang of popular girls") that go to school with her (the first chapter describes one of the nasty kids as having blond hair that she "flips" at the main character) are all bad and insult her ("make her feel like dirt") because "don't your parents own a Quickie Mart?" and she can't possibly be royalty. I did not appreciate the immediate racism right off the bat. White people are bad and always make fun of people whose naturalized parents dote on their child (which perpetuates a stereotype that all children are embarrassed when their parents pay attention to them in public). I also did not appreciate the entirely disrespectful attitude the main character has toward her parents, which she has to save from a demon (that's all on the back of the book) because, like other stories, the parents are idiots and the children have all the power and know better. Why can't this be a story with epic fantasy that shows children that it is cool to be proud of your parents and your heritage and not shrink in shame when other kids (who will only be the white ones) insult them (before they find out they have super powers and are actually royalty)? Or a story with a young main character that has a bit of humility, despite unwelcome and negative criticism? That would be real strength. That would be a book I would throw at my child and gleefully say, "Read this! It's completely awesome!"

There were some portions of this book I really enjoyed but over all found myself frustrated with the way all the characters were portrayed. I struggled with the atmosphere. In so many of the scenes I was looking for that feeling of immersion where it's fraught with tension and it just wasn't there. There was very little depth to most of the characters and it makes me so sad because all these Bengali tales could have been constructed into something so beautiful. I hope someone else is able to read this and love it so much more than I did.