Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Hartman, Rachel. Seraphina.  New York: Random House, 2012. Print.  ISBN 978-0-385-66839-2; Hardcover; $21.00.

Annotation:
Seraphina is half-dragon, half-human in a world where that is forbidden and a handsome young prince is about to find out.

Book Talk:

Would you tell the truth for love?  Seraphina is a young woman with a terrible secret: she’s a half-breed, with a dragon mother and human father, a musical gift and the ability to locate and communicate with other half-breeds in her mind.  Phina lives in a kingdom with an unstable peace treaty between the emotional, impulsive humans and the calculating, rational dragons who assume human form to become scholars and noblemen.  Even though everyone is supposed to get along, dragons and humans rarely trust each other and interspecies marriage is strictly forbidden.  After a member of the royal family is murdered shy, introverted Seraphina gets swept up into an investigation that leads her to falling in love with the princess’s finance, the handsome and perceptive Lucian Kiggs.  In order to save the Royal family and her beloved uncle, Seraphina has to reveal her special talents and the scales she hides under layers of clothing, but will Lucian ever see her the same way?  Would you tell the truth for love?

Here's a great video of Rachel Hartman talking about how her dragons have sensory processing issues, like her son:

There's a sequel, The Shadow Scale, coming out in March 2015!

Seraphina is available in ebook, hardcover, paperback, and audio CD.

Awards:

Winner of the 2013 YALSA Morris Award for Best YA Debut Novel
Finalist for the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award (Canada)
Short-listed for the Kitschies’ Golden Tentacle Award (UK)
Long-listed for the Carnegie Medal (UK)