In the Serpent's Wake

By: Rachel Hartman

Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan

2023 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, Winner

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of Seraphina comes a piercing new fantasy adventure that champions our resilience and humility.

MIND OF THE WORLD,

OPEN YOUR EYES.

At the bottom of the world lies a Serpent, the last of its kind.

Finding the Serpent will change lives.

Tess is a girl on a mission to save a friend.

Spira is a dragon seeking a new identity.

Marga is an explorer staking her claim on a man’s world.

Jacomo is a priest searching for his soul.

There are those who would give their lives to keep it hidden.

And those who would destroy it.

But the only people who will truly find the Serpent are those who have awakened to the world around them—with eyes open to the wondrous, the terrible, and the just.

Discover more critically-acclaimed YA from Rachel Hartman!

Seraphina

Shadow Scale

Tess of the Road

©2022 Rachel Hartman (P)2022 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Wonderful, instantly immersive and deeply affecting."—The New York Times

“Hartman deftly reflects our own world’s worries in this adventurous fantasy, but always with an eye toward hope and healing…. This is a much-needed book.”—Booklist, starred review

“Hartman’s inclusive world grapples with questions of sovereignty and colonization, religion, and gender in ways that both reflect and comment on our own world…. A compelling duology closer."—Kirkus Reviews

Satisfyingly complex and nuanced story

For young adult fantasy fiction this story has surprising depth and richness in its exploration of difficult and complex issues. Tess and her fellow expeditioners encounter political intrigue and rebellion as they voyage ever deeper into the colonised lands of the Pellagese. While external adventures are balanced against Tess’s internal journey of growth, and redemption, she tackles some difficult personal wounds and finds the strength to fulfill her promise to Pathka.
I found the details of the emotional and ethical struggles of Tess and her companions to be authentic and sympathetic.
Great read, I think this is my favourite of the series so far.

A beautifully crafted and heartfelt story

This sequel poignantly handles a variety of important social issues, the most prevalent of which being colonization and the intolerance and ignorance of the cultures of people who are different from us. I also appreciated how these social issues wove effortlessly into the masterfully crafted worldbuilding. In the first book we are introduced to the Quigutl pronoun “ko”, which is a gender neutral pronoun in the Quigutl language called Quootla. Tess has been fluent in Quootla since she was a child, but it is only until the second book that Tess thinks to ask about her childhood friend Pathka’s preferred pronouns, and asks another Quigutl if she should have been calling Pathka “ko” this entire time. The quigutl explains that no, ko is only used if you are speaking Quootla. “But you should have asked a long time ago,” admonishes the quigutl, smacking Tess in the knees with their tail. “Fair enough,” responds Tess, offering no argument. I don’t think there could have been a more natural way to illustrate how simple it is to do the same for a real life person.

Brilliant. And so much more!!

The author represents everyday global social issues in wonderful story form. There is adventure, heartbreak, repentance, tolerance/ intolerance, romance, self awareness, disappointment, and more sandwiched a very appealing form. Although illustrating some hard truths, I came away with a good feeling that all has its place in the journey of life. That there is hope and room for individuality and satisfaction in accepting diverse friendships. I can’t help but think this series is a future classic.
Narrator, excellent. Author, excellent. A thank you to all involved for bringing this book into my heart and mind. If the author does not write another word, she has left a full life’s work within these 3 books. Again my thanks.

More please?

What an incredible series. Please say there will be more? I was hooked into this other world before I realized it. Thanks

Unexpected Ending / Beautiful story

Obsessed with everything about this! Such character growth. I found myself crying, yelling, angry, shocked, happy, …. All of the emotions.

Spectacular, I can’t wait to reread it!

Mind of the world open your eyes

A meta exploration of collective consciousness, the power of story, and an epic queering of the hero’s journey.

A very helpful imagining of what it can look like for white people to learn to decenter ourselves; Sometimes we have to side kick the world.

And, very importantly, an absolute pleasure of a read.

loved this book

I loved this book, better than Seraphina, but not quite as much as Tess of the Road. It has many facets and doesn't go quite the way you think it will.... which is part of the point. I have always wanted to spend more time with the dragons and other creatures, maybe in the next book? This book explores cultures clashing, what civilization means, gender, secrets, class/hierarchy in society, but is also an adventure novel. Don't try to take it all in at once. Every story has a different meaning for each person!

Beautiful Adventure

It is beautiful to see Tess grow and evolve. Rachel Hartman does an excellent job of weaving current themes into her books.

5 stars so the way around

I really enjoyed this story. I'm happy I found this author. I keep saving quotes from her stories. the narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life. look forward to reading more from the author.

Excellent Finale

This was a wonderful story, but I had a difficult time reading it as a standalone. It had been a long time since I read the last book in the series and I had forgotten everything I’d read. So I found this book confusing. So I had to stop reading it and go back and listen to the other books again and then listen to this book and it was wonderful. HARTMAN is a storyteller like no other.