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Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee is a touchingly sincere queer reimagining of Chinese folktale that questions what it means to reorient your worldview around love. This standalone YA fantasy novel follows two young men who find themselves inextricably drawn to each other. When their quiet relationship built on trust is tested against an unimaginable lie, their love—and lives—will change forever.
Prince Xian has been searching for an ancient spirit pearl to cure the slow but deadly effects of his mother’s snake bite injury. In search of the antidote, Xian has been hunting the rare white snake for most of his life. When he is finally granted royal permission to find the white snake and the pearl that could cure his mother, he unexpectedly finds both when he comes across a beautiful palace stable boy, Zhen, whose straightforward charm is undeniable.
Zhen was a simple white snake before he consumed a spirit pearl. Now he can change into a human form and use the pearl’s power to perform marvelous feats. Little did he know he consumed the cure that would have secured Xian’s mother’s health. Developing a sense of mutual trust, attraction, and love is the least of their problems when Xian discovers Zhen is the white snake he’s been searching for. Can true love overcome the insurmountable odds at the center of their relationship?
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The pacing in Legend of the White Snake slowly unfurls a carefully built relationship with a central evident flaw—Zhen is lying about his identity to protect himself and his adopted sister. They both can shift into snakes so their power is a clear target for the prince’s hunt. On top of that, they both must consider their positions as common servants even as Xian treats them like friends. Under these difficult layers of dangerous class and species differences, Lee manages to build a wholly believable love story between Zhen and Xian.
When the truth is revealed, their relationship is put under an unimaginable stress test. Certainly, Prince Xian makes wrong choices before he makes the right ones, but ultimately, these difficult trials strengthen their bonds. Like old folktales, the results are tragic and fraught, but when they eventually come together in the end, the reader knows their relationship has withstood the most difficult test of their lives.
If you enjoy queer folktale retellings with big emotions and even bigger stakes, I guarantee Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee is the YA fantasy book for you.
