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rebelrider 's review for:
The Poison Jungle
by Tui T. Sutherland
Guys, I found it. A love story worse than Twilight.
The book started okay, but about a third of the way through, it turns out the main character, a girl dragon, has a girlfriend who is her one true love. I have some beliefs that mean I don't think that sort of relationship should be promoted, so this bothered me, especially since so much of the book was about it.
Now, not only does she have a girlfriend, but in a flashback, we find out it was love at first sight when Sundew was TWO YEARS OLD. I know dragons age faster than humans, but two is still way too young for love at first sight, and it seems like the other dragon was older too. Not only that, this dragon sparkled like a Twilight vampire. (I'm not joking. She's sparkly in the flashback.)
The author goes to great extents to normalize gay dragons, to the point no one seems that upset about it, other than a couple glares. Sundew was supposed to marry another dragon because she and he share certain powers. The fact that Sundew is lesbian should cause some issue because, logically, that means she wouldn't be passing on her genetics, which is apparently a big enough deal that she'd have been put in a forced marriage to produce little dragons that talk to plants. This fact that everyone's plan for breeding dragons is ruined isn't mentioned, even though it should have caused a huge blow up.
The writing is also somewhat annoying. The romance is a huge focus of the storyline, and the romantic interest, Willow, has no real personality, other than being the opposite of the main character. Normally, Tui's characters are interesting, but Willow's pretty flat. It's obvious that, so far, her only role in the storyline is "Sundew's girlfriend." While Cricket is an interesting character and is often doing things, Willow would have no real role without Sundew.
And then the third thing. These dragons keep walking through this dragon eating poison jungle. I don't remember anyone mentioning why they can't simply climb a tall tree, then fly over the jungle. Did dragon wings somehow stop working along with dragon magic?
Overall, I don't see why pre-teens should have books that are full of romance, no matter what gender the characters are. Kids don't read books about dragons because they want dragons touching claws and tails and wings. Romance shouldn't be a big focus of stories geared toward this age group, especially stories that are supposed to be about adventure and dragons.
I miss the original series. That had a lot more action and fun in it, and the romance wasn't nearly as much of a focus. It seems to be going downhill badly.
The book started okay, but about a third of the way through, it turns out the main character, a girl dragon, has a girlfriend who is her one true love. I have some beliefs that mean I don't think that sort of relationship should be promoted, so this bothered me, especially since so much of the book was about it.
Now, not only does she have a girlfriend, but in a flashback, we find out it was love at first sight when Sundew was TWO YEARS OLD. I know dragons age faster than humans, but two is still way too young for love at first sight, and it seems like the other dragon was older too. Not only that, this dragon sparkled like a Twilight vampire. (I'm not joking. She's sparkly in the flashback.)
The author goes to great extents to normalize gay dragons, to the point no one seems that upset about it, other than a couple glares. Sundew was supposed to marry another dragon because she and he share certain powers. The fact that Sundew is lesbian should cause some issue because, logically, that means she wouldn't be passing on her genetics, which is apparently a big enough deal that she'd have been put in a forced marriage to produce little dragons that talk to plants. This fact that everyone's plan for breeding dragons is ruined isn't mentioned, even though it should have caused a huge blow up.
The writing is also somewhat annoying. The romance is a huge focus of the storyline, and the romantic interest, Willow, has no real personality, other than being the opposite of the main character. Normally, Tui's characters are interesting, but Willow's pretty flat. It's obvious that, so far, her only role in the storyline is "Sundew's girlfriend." While Cricket is an interesting character and is often doing things, Willow would have no real role without Sundew.
And then the third thing. These dragons keep walking through this dragon eating poison jungle. I don't remember anyone mentioning why they can't simply climb a tall tree, then fly over the jungle. Did dragon wings somehow stop working along with dragon magic?
Overall, I don't see why pre-teens should have books that are full of romance, no matter what gender the characters are. Kids don't read books about dragons because they want dragons touching claws and tails and wings. Romance shouldn't be a big focus of stories geared toward this age group, especially stories that are supposed to be about adventure and dragons.
I miss the original series. That had a lot more action and fun in it, and the romance wasn't nearly as much of a focus. It seems to be going downhill badly.