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A review by kewlkat70
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a reread, maybe the 3rd time read in my life time. My first time reading this I was very young, maybe 11 or 12 and this is perfect YA novel. The protagonist is 15 and she acts like a 15 yr old. It will be a 5⭐ YA read
As an adult the read is a bit slowmoving. The narration on this audiobook version is terrible. All the adults sound like they are admonishing the protagonist whether they are or not. And the protagonists dialogue comes across as overly childish. Not the way I read her in my youth.
I would say the book only holds out to 3.5 or 3.75 today but I am averaging it out because the world of Pern is so wonderful and this book holds so much importance to me.
I initially downloaded it to listen with my 15yr old daughter and she was not interested in the story. It's quite slow. But she was also put off because Menolly is told she can't be a Harper because she is a girl and girls get married and do women's chores. She was really put off by the gender roles.
Even though I explained that this was written in the 70s and that the story of how Menolly overcame these expectations made this a feminist book for young people in a time when very little fantasy was written for girls.
But now it's seen as an uncomfortable trope rather than a revolution. Sigh
As an adult the read is a bit slowmoving. The narration on this audiobook version is terrible. All the adults sound like they are admonishing the protagonist whether they are or not. And the protagonists dialogue comes across as overly childish. Not the way I read her in my youth.
I would say the book only holds out to 3.5 or 3.75 today but I am averaging it out because the world of Pern is so wonderful and this book holds so much importance to me.
I initially downloaded it to listen with my 15yr old daughter and she was not interested in the story. It's quite slow. But she was also put off because Menolly is told she can't be a Harper because she is a girl and girls get married and do women's chores. She was really put off by the gender roles.
Even though I explained that this was written in the 70s and that the story of how Menolly overcame these expectations made this a feminist book for young people in a time when very little fantasy was written for girls.
But now it's seen as an uncomfortable trope rather than a revolution. Sigh