Seraphina by Rachel Hartman takes place in Goredd, a world where there is an uneasy truce between humans and dragons. The twist in this story is that dragons can take human form and live among them, though they must be monitored and wear a bell around their necks to identify themselves.
Seraphina is a teenage musician who works in the court and has a dragon named Orma as her friend and tutor. However, she is quite alone. She never knew her mother, her relationship with her father is stilted, and she has no real human friends. Though Orma is her friend, she finds it difficult to relate to him, since dragons have no emotions.
But there are secrets in Goredd. A prince of the realm has been murdered, and dragons are suspected. There are also secrets in Seraphon’s own family. Why does no one talk about her mother? And how did she become so close to Orma? The murder she is trying to solve with the help of a bastard prince, but the family secrets she must keep to herself.
The book Seraphina, while geared toward young adults, has a lot of depth that adults will enjoy. The dragon-human differences and conflict can be metaphors for our own realationships today, both on a macro- and micro-level. Read Seraphina to get a wonderful story but come away with better understanding of human nature.