A review by thebookishren
A Dragonbird in the Fern by Laura Rueckert

4.0

What an interesting concept and unique twist on the ever thrilling “new girl in a new place” trope I tend to enjoy! What made this story so interesting was the added layer of dyslexia to the plot. The language barrier was probably my favorite aspect of this story, especially with the conversation progression between Jiara and Raffar. This story was a wonderful representation of how difficult basic communication can be for individuals who suffer from communicative disorders. Toss that into a language barrier and the angst and truth behind that whole plot point is fantastic!

The romance was YA. The thoughts were a little more mature, but in the grand scheme of things this was a juvenile, slow-burn romance that was really more of a side plot. Actually, I felt like there were multiple side plots (ghost, language barrier, romance, assassin) woven together without much of a central plot. If this were any other genre it might not work but I found it made this extraordinary tale more enjoyable in the end.