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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Menolly is a gifted harper (musician, essentially), but being a girl and belonging to what seems to be the equivalent to a backwater town on her world, she's bullied by her parents into giving up her dream. She resists, though, by running away, and in the process befriends some small dragon-like creatures in a way that she doesn't at the time realize is just short of miraculous.
One of those gawky-girl-who-doesn't-realize-she's-actually-really-amazing type stories. It's good, but not the best of its kind. I enjoyed it, but not enough to scramble for the next in the series.
One of those gawky-girl-who-doesn't-realize-she's-actually-really-amazing type stories. It's good, but not the best of its kind. I enjoyed it, but not enough to scramble for the next in the series.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
I can honestly say I love this book. I have reread it so many times. I love that it has a strong female lead even if she is a girl. She is the youngest girl in a large family, where her father is in charge of the fishing hold. You would think she has a pretty cushy life but that is not true, as girls are not thought of doing many things as well as boys. She is given the task of helping the harper as she has some talents and they won't need to waste a guy that could be fishing. The trouble starts when the old harper passes away. The other part of the story is about dragons, well in this case the smaller variety of fire lizards who look like miniature dragons. How they all tie together makes the adventure happen.
I haven't devoured a book in a single session in a long time! I got swept away!
Oh, man. This book was even better than I remembered. Tight writing, pulled heartstrings, dreamy fantasy, sharp imagery, excellent world-building, and a plot that pulls you along to get to the joyous end - what could be better?
Dragonsong is an enchanting novel about a young girl ostracized from her home and her journey of understanding and self-acceptance. Menolly is denied her true calling, a harper, because she is a girl. The treatment that Menolly endures in her home reminds me of people’s inability to dream and imagine a different life. The whole book was a touching tale of acceptance and compassion. It was a tender story of a youth who goes against society trying to fit in. Even if you’re an adult, this story is captivating and not only reminds us of the struggles we went through as children, but perhaps the struggles we go through daily to accept and love ourselves.
For the full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/?p=226
For the full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/?p=226
This was a fast and easy fantasy read. I see on the back it does suggest for ages 10-14. Having read Anne McCaffrey's Tower and Hive series and Crystal Singer series, I was a little surprised at the simplicity and shortness (191 pages) of this novel. Clearly it intertwined the stories of the first trilogy of Pern, as it takes place at the same time.
According to another Pern book, the best order in which to read the Pern books is to read Dragonflight and Dragonquest first. However, Dragonsong said it was the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, so I picked it up, not realizing I was going to be out of order on the whole chronology of Pern. That's okay, McCaffrey's books do a very good story synopsis catch-up in the introduction or prologue, so while I realize there were stories told that I've probably heard the ending of already, I haven't read those stories. Sometimes, it isn't bad to know the ending before reading the story, because you read for the enjoyment of the story itself.
McCaffrey does seem stuck on two types of lead heroines: small and fragile or tall and strong. Menolly falls into the category of Tall, Big Girl, like the Freedom's Landing heroine and some of the heroines in Tower and the Hive. Overall, I enjoyed this story. It captured my attention and now I can't wait to read more Pern books.
According to another Pern book, the best order in which to read the Pern books is to read Dragonflight and Dragonquest first. However, Dragonsong said it was the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, so I picked it up, not realizing I was going to be out of order on the whole chronology of Pern. That's okay, McCaffrey's books do a very good story synopsis catch-up in the introduction or prologue, so while I realize there were stories told that I've probably heard the ending of already, I haven't read those stories. Sometimes, it isn't bad to know the ending before reading the story, because you read for the enjoyment of the story itself.
McCaffrey does seem stuck on two types of lead heroines: small and fragile or tall and strong. Menolly falls into the category of Tall, Big Girl, like the Freedom's Landing heroine and some of the heroines in Tower and the Hive. Overall, I enjoyed this story. It captured my attention and now I can't wait to read more Pern books.
Menolly has had it tough her whole life and has now found her place. She distrusts that people really like her and what she knows and does. I cried when she realised that they really did like her and wanted to know more!
Haven't read this since sometime in highschool. Still a pretty decent book
2015 audio read.
I preferred this narrator, Sally Darling, over the male narrator of the first two books. I did find that she was a much slower reader and found that running the audio at about x1.3 to 1.4 times faster than normal moved the pacing well and didn't change the pitch of the narrator to a bothersome degree.
That story is and always will be one among my favorites.
I preferred this narrator, Sally Darling, over the male narrator of the first two books. I did find that she was a much slower reader and found that running the audio at about x1.3 to 1.4 times faster than normal moved the pacing well and didn't change the pitch of the narrator to a bothersome degree.
That story is and always will be one among my favorites.