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A review by hanthomas
The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta
3.0
I’ll preface this by saying that as an adult I read some young and middle reader books to keep tabs on the types of things my kids are reading, so this book was less for my own enjoyment and more for parenting reasons.
While sometimes it is a pleasant bonus that these types of tab-keeping books are enjoyable for me to read, this particular book was difficult to finish.
I liked the Riordan-esque style blending mythology with young contemporary heroes, and I particularly enjoyed that Bengali folktales were drawn upon. I appreciated for my son and daughter both that the Indian princess, Kiranmala, was fearless, smart, and courageous: a wonderful foil for the helpless, Disney-like princesses I grew up reading about.
However, overall, it was just... boring. I couldn’t figure out if it was boring to me because of my own lack of familiarity with the folktales and myths being drawn upon, or if in fact the storyline was lacking somewhat, and it really was at times as cartoonish as it seemed. All the same, the only reason I finished was out of my own compulsion to not leave a book half read.
I fully acknowledge that I am not the target market for this book. My preteens, in contrast, thought this book was funny and clever, and adored the storyline. They can’t wait to read the rest of the series, and I hope the coming books build well on the interesting things that were present.
In summary, it wasn’t my thing, but it was my kids’ thing, which I suppose is exactly what it was meant to be.
While sometimes it is a pleasant bonus that these types of tab-keeping books are enjoyable for me to read, this particular book was difficult to finish.
I liked the Riordan-esque style blending mythology with young contemporary heroes, and I particularly enjoyed that Bengali folktales were drawn upon. I appreciated for my son and daughter both that the Indian princess, Kiranmala, was fearless, smart, and courageous: a wonderful foil for the helpless, Disney-like princesses I grew up reading about.
However, overall, it was just... boring. I couldn’t figure out if it was boring to me because of my own lack of familiarity with the folktales and myths being drawn upon, or if in fact the storyline was lacking somewhat, and it really was at times as cartoonish as it seemed. All the same, the only reason I finished was out of my own compulsion to not leave a book half read.
I fully acknowledge that I am not the target market for this book. My preteens, in contrast, thought this book was funny and clever, and adored the storyline. They can’t wait to read the rest of the series, and I hope the coming books build well on the interesting things that were present.
In summary, it wasn’t my thing, but it was my kids’ thing, which I suppose is exactly what it was meant to be.