The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1) Kindle Edition

As a 6th grade history teacher, I have been a fan of Rick Riordan's use of fiction to teach mythology since I entered the classroom. I have to admit, that after many of his series over the years, I have outgrown his narrative voice. It just doesn't speak to me any more. This book was recommended to me, and despite my reservations about it following the same "formula", I gave it a try. I was delighted by how quickly it drew me in. It is funny, fresh, entertaining, all while teaching fascinating mythological beliefs. I highly recommend this book to anyone from middle grades to adulthood.

I purchased this book, one for my granddaughter and one for my niece. The book was a total success. Both girls were enthralled with it My granddaughter read half the first day she had it My niece, while not as enthusiastic a reader, also got immediately involved in it. Both girls are 10. One is an advanced reader. Both enjoyed it equally. I would fully recommend this book.

I'd actually give this book 4.5 stars. A really refreshing, friendly take on the MG in Mythology style book, I enjoyed reading this and recommend it. It didn't feel formulaic or forced, and it kept a nice humor that relied more on puns, visual gags and tight rhyming rather than pop culture references. I do think the individual characters would've benefited from a longer narrative with more time to develop, but they were a good mix of funny, intense and charming. The author's notes provide some invaluable commentary on the source of many of these myths. Overall the whole book reminded me of one of my favorite collection of unusual fairy tales, Carl Sandberg's Rootabaga Stories. Definitely a nice surprise!

I’ve waited all my life for mythologies from my cultures to be brought to life in books like this! It’s fascinating to read this with my child wishing I’d had books that represented me. My 11 year old says: “Although I was freaked out by all the snakes, it had such good characters in it. I want my friends to read it because the main character is funny and a fighter too.”

I love a quick-witted heroine beginning to learn a new world. Kiranmala keeps her head on her shoulders as she battles demons, solves riddles, and makes new friends, all while on a quest to save her parents. Her birth parents -the Moon and the Serpent King - have different reasons for communicating with her. And her new friend Neel reveals that this story is also partly an allegory for prejudice. Once Kiran believes in herself in spite of her history, there’s no stopping her. Can’t wait for the sequel!

What a fun read! I devoured this story and have now passed it on to my son. Kiranmala is a spunky heroine who finds herself uprooted from everything she knows and thrown into another dimension as she battles rakkosh and other magical beasts to find and save her parents. THE SERPENT'S SECRET is a fast-paced read with characters we want to root for and a quest that's magical and mysterious. The world building was fantastic, and I loved the weaving of Indian mythology.

My daughter is an avid reader. She was excited to read this book, but it is not holding her attention the way other books do. At 8yr old, she can go through a book like this in a wknd. She says she likes it, but she isn't rushing to read through it. We are encouraging her to finish so I can update this review with her thoughts on it.

I enjoyed this book, Wonderful to see a female character take charge and kick butt. I am so happy to see mythology outside of greek and roman. I have enjoyed all of Rick Riordan's books and this book is a fun mythology quest in a different world with great characters. In this book their quest just keeps running into some snags and I loved that they just had to add one more thing to their to-do list. Both Kiren and Neel have some mixed parenting issues. This is wonderful for them to explore and talk about. I love Neel's mom because even though she is a demon she is still a mom, and her character is one of my favorite. That we are not who are parents are but how we live our lives. This is a great middle reader adventure, and I can't wait for the next book.

When a book succeeds in rekindling the romance of fairy tales, alongside the charm & humour of a modern kick-ass YA, you instantly realise something.It's special.This, is one such book.It has some of the most beloved characters of Bengali fairy tales and Children's Classics. But unlike some of the modern retelling of those stories, it doesn't try to recreate the period. Instead, this book tells us a tale full of mystery, suspense, action, horror, pathos, wit, and the very real angst that young adults have to go through.And, it has love.Love, which transcends ALL barriers.But did I have some problem as well? Yes, the star-nursery part involving Einstein, was frankly boring, and had resulted in the story losing a lot of pace. But that's just a ghyan-ghyan on my part.Overall, this was the MOST FUN book that I have read in recent times.And because my daughter had graciously allowed me to read this book first, despite it being bought for her, I would have to pay a steep price. I know.In the meanwhile, go for it. Please.Highly Recommended.

Reading this book was a great experience and I felt like travelling into a fantasy world.I loved the character kiranmala. I loved the writing style of Sayantani Dasgupta.The cover of the book was amazing.This is a amazing middle grade fantasy.please try it!

My 9 year old daughter loved this book. She enjoyed it so much that we ordered the second book in the series.

Shipped quickly, it's a gift so I haven't read it but she loved it.

A wonderful journey to the land of rakkhos, khokkos, pakshiraj, bangoma-bangomi thru the eyes of a modern child.