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pandact's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
It hits all the right notes If you like magical realism that combines science and mysticism in an alternate history world with multicultural mythologies foreshadowing worldbuilding. The dragons and Skilta system could be developed more, but it almost qualified as math magic and still didn't distract me too much with trying to figure out if it was chemistry or alchemy...
Graphic: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Bullying
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Minor: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
theirgracegrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
My favourite part of this book was the worldbuilding! Blackgoose builds a world like our own, but without a Roman Empire or Christianity, the Europeans have a distinctly Norse flair that matches well with the themes of resistance against colonialism. Each character has distinctive features, mannerisms and traits that make them real and powerful parts of the narrative.
Eagerly awaiting the next book of this series, particularly in light of the final handful of chapters!
Graphic: Slavery, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Genocide, Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: War and Medical content
Minor: Cannibalism, Cursing, Infidelity, and Vomit
cadence99's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Bullying, Colonisation, Racism, and Ableism
Moderate: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Animal cruelty, War, Classism, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Genocide
aksmith92's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The setup: We follow Anequs, a 15-year-old from Masquapaug, the fictional island (known as Mack Island to white people) in the world Moniquill Blackgoose set up for us - FYI the map is very cool. I highly recommend you check that out in front of the book and the pronunciation guide.
Anequs is on Masquapaug with her lovely family when she sees a dragon, something improbable since dragons haven't been around for a long time on Masquapaug. The following day, she heads towards where she saw the dragon and finds an egg, returning it to her village. Next thing you know, it hatches and imprints itself onto Anequs. Anequs finds herself in a difficult situation - either she connects with the young Kasaqua (what she names the dragon) on her home island, or she leaves to go to the closest dragon school (yes, imprinting dragons are a thing, and there is a whole school for it!). She decides the latter since she needs to better understand how to communicate and work with her dragon - the art of doing so was lost on the island when their dragons left them some centuries ago. So, Anequs finds herself on an adventure to learn everything about controlling her dragon's breath - an essential piece of the dragon education system - but also finds herself in a very different and cold environment than the one on Masquapaug.
What I liked: I absolutely LOVED the world-building and plot in this novel. At times, it might have been a little dense, especially when Anequs was at school learning about components of the dragon's breath. But I loved every second; it was beyond innovative! This was the type of world-building and fantastical elements that I love to see. It was complicated. It was unique. It was original. Ugh, I had a blast. I also loved the characters. No two characters were alike, which I appreciated. They were all layered and dimensional, even the ones that you didn't necessarily love (I'm looking at you, Martha!). This book could, at times, be somewhat challenging. It incorporated deep racist threads to our world when it came to the Indigenous community, alongside colonialism, since this took place in the "1800s." (In quotes since this is what I would argue be a parallel world to our own history). But, while it was hard to read, it was essential to read.
What fell a little flat: This was not an action-packed book, in my opinion. There was some action near the end, but it was more of a narrative. There was a LOT of telling and only a little showing or doing. The writing style was sometimes like "I went to stand by Kasaqua to watch the clouds." "I went up to my room to read." And then, that was that. It was a VERY different writing style than I was used to, but it was still engaging. It didn't sway me too much since Blackgoose was no doubt trying to make this a YA novel, build the characters, and share a lot of the world-building in this book in a series.
Additionally (and lastly), I will say that while I loved Anequs's character (her uniqueness, candidness, and authenticity), there were times when I felt that it was unrealistic that she would say all of those things back at colonizers and not somehow get in more trouble. Anequs sometimes felt perfect and unwavering. While this certainly worked for the story and made me love Anequs in many ways, I thought it was occasionally unrealistic. It wasn't too big of a deal because I enjoyed reading about Anequs and her story.
Overall, this was a fantastic read. I have yet another dragon book that outweighs some other books I think may be a little overhyped (*cough cough iykyk*). I am looking forward to continuing this series when more are coming out.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Hate crime, and Violence
saltylane's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Some of the scenes were rather detailed to the point that I was a bit bored with them, like a couple of the class scenes wherein Anequs had to learn detailed concepts. It’s possible they were intentionally written that way to have the reader share the confusion of Anequs upon having to learn the complex concepts, but I almost skipped the scene entirely about midway through. On the other hand, some scenes were briefly described when I might’ve liked to read more about them in detail.
The descriptions of the dragons when they first appeared were added in such a way that it was hard for me to actually picture the individual creatures in my mind. The species were almost all described at once, and I couldn’t retain what they looked like after that point because the ideas blended together. The descriptions were thorough, but being introduced to most of them all at once made it harder for me to keep up with what was what afterwards. I would like to see illustrations of them, though, because they did sound interesting to see!
The story itself is inspiring as Anequs faces much adversity in the community she’s thrust into. The analogs to real-world issues can be painful a lot of the time, but it’s informative and inspiring when Anequs fights to make change. The way she becomes an agent for change in those around her with her tenacity and kindness/empathy is heartwarming.
Overall, I enjoyed the read, and I look forward to the sequels.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Colonisation, Misogyny, Classism, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Grief, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Slavery, War, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Hate crime, Genocide, Racial slurs, Death, Classism, Transphobia, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
hawksrye's review
4.25
Moderate: Racism, Animal death, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Genocide, Slavery, Colonisation, Homophobia, Blood, Hate crime, Death of parent, Gun violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Transphobia
taroroot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Colonisation, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexism, Classism, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Slavery, and Transphobia
Minor: Blood, Drug use, and Alcohol
novella42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Also, I don't know what the audiobook is like, but I can't imagine getting the same effect without a text version. I'm very glad I have the hardcopy so I could page back and forth to the pronunciations, maps, periodic table, etc. I wish I could share photos of the pronunciation guide because it's a sliver of a glimpse of the amount of brainpower Blackgoose poured into this work. I wish I could show you some of the heart, too, but for that you'll need to immerse yourself in the story.
As a lifelong wheelchair-user, I really enjoyed the steampunk wheelchair alternative (though if I were that character I'd probably try and develop some sort of smaller backup mobility aid to allow me to move into all the inaccessible places around the school where the larger device couldn't go). I loved the magical AAC device the neurodivergent character uses to communicate, too! Brilliant and respectful rep for disability, neurodivergence, queer, and polyam characters. I've been recommending it left and right. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Ableism, Violence, Biphobia, Racial slurs, and Genocide
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, War, Slavery, Transphobia, Body shaming, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
rockyroadbutch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Blood, War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Child abuse, Classism, Slavery, and Lesbophobia