Serpentine by Cindy Pon

Skybright has been a handmaid all her life to her mistress, Zhen Ni. While the two girls, of the same age, grew together like sisters, proper decorum is that Skybright is to serve Zhen Ni her entire life, never to wed or have children. Zhen Ni, on the other hand, is of a weathly family, and once she has experienced her first “monthly letting,” her mother will choose a husband for her and expect grandchildren, as is customary. However, Zhen Ni has no intention of following such a fate so easily. Meanwhile, Skybright discovers an entirely different and dangerous fate of her own. Instead of experiencing a normal monthly letting as other girls do, Skybright dscovers that she can transform into a serpent demon. Or rather, that she is half human and half serpent demon by birth. Although she has never known much about her past or her origin, nor has she ever dwelled on such unknown, she soon learns more about her mother and demon-kind through a ghostly figure named Stone, who claims to have known her mother. To make matters worse, a breach has appeared in the gateway between the human realm and the underworld, causing demons and undead creatures to wreak havoc on the living. The monks fight these otherworldly beings day and night, however one boy named Kai Sen, who studies and fights with the monks but is not a monk by oath, discovers her secret. Luckily, he gladly keeps her secret safe along with leading her to discover feelings she had never experienced towards another person before. However, after Lady Yuan, Zhen Ni’s mother, discovers Zhen Ni’s secret, Zhen Ni flees their manor alone and Skybright has no other instinct than to chase after her and keep her safe from the war happening between the monks and demons, all while trying to hide her own dangerous secret from her mistress.

I would highly recommend to teens and pre-teens, especially girls specifically. Skybright and Zhen Ni are weighed down by their pressuring future as young girls entering womanhood, and the roles that are expected of them. This story reflects on discovering self-identity, sexuality, first loves and heartbreaks. I really enjoyed reading this book, I finished it in two days and I am considering finishing the series.

Pros: storyline moves at a comfortably quick pace; descriptive context makes it easy to picture the characters and events; intriguing cliffhanger ending
Cons: quick read, it ended too soon

Background Interview with the author (34min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM-SR089-p8

Short Clip about the Xia Dynasty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJdg6tfaAhw