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A review by asreadbykat
Alliana, Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe
4.0
True Rating: 4/5 Stars
Content/Trigger Warnings: Child emotional/verbal abuse and neglect, Gaslighting, hints/vague references to mariticide
My Thoughts
"Words are what connect us through time and distance, whether expressing troubles or joy."
The Eva Evergreen duology are some of my favorite middle grade books, and some that I want to gift to my niece when she's old enough. It was sweet, charming, with just enough danger and threats to make it worthwhile. So when I saw this book in the store, I was ecstatic to read it; even more so when I realized it was about Queen Alliana and Eva's mother's past.
Does it hold up?
Yes and no.
It definitely still retains the honest charm of the Eva novels. Alliana and Nela both have to work to achieve their dreams, undergoing their own trials. Alliana also discovers the idea of found family, and works to create one, similar to how Eva made her own in Auteri. It's a story about a young girl who grew up being told she's not enough finding the strength hidden inside her, and discovering that, just maybe, she IS enough.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because of the Cinderella trope. I honestly can't remember whether Queen Alliana's past is mentioned in any detail in Eva's books, but I wasn't expecting to go into a Cinderella-retelling. It might just be because I've unknowingly read more than a few of those this year and I'm tired of them; or maybe I just really wanted to see Alliana go on a real adventure, much like Eva had to. But while Alliana had her adventure, it wasn't what I expected. I do give the author points for trying to make the fairytale aspect as original as possible. Certain things are left out, others are added in, and it's obvious the inspiration was taken from more than one Cinderella media source.
Overall, I can tell the author cared enough to really try with this, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read if you're a fan of the Eva books. I'll just continue to hold out hope that we get a sequel to this that gives Alliana the huge adventure she (and Kabo) deserves.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Child emotional/verbal abuse and neglect, Gaslighting, hints/vague references to mariticide
My Thoughts
"Words are what connect us through time and distance, whether expressing troubles or joy."
The Eva Evergreen duology are some of my favorite middle grade books, and some that I want to gift to my niece when she's old enough. It was sweet, charming, with just enough danger and threats to make it worthwhile. So when I saw this book in the store, I was ecstatic to read it; even more so when I realized it was about Queen Alliana and Eva's mother's past.
Does it hold up?
Yes and no.
It definitely still retains the honest charm of the Eva novels. Alliana and Nela both have to work to achieve their dreams, undergoing their own trials. Alliana also discovers the idea of found family, and works to create one, similar to how Eva made her own in Auteri. It's a story about a young girl who grew up being told she's not enough finding the strength hidden inside her, and discovering that, just maybe, she IS enough.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because of the Cinderella trope. I honestly can't remember whether Queen Alliana's past is mentioned in any detail in Eva's books, but I wasn't expecting to go into a Cinderella-retelling. It might just be because I've unknowingly read more than a few of those this year and I'm tired of them; or maybe I just really wanted to see Alliana go on a real adventure, much like Eva had to. But while Alliana had her adventure, it wasn't what I expected. I do give the author points for trying to make the fairytale aspect as original as possible. Certain things are left out, others are added in, and it's obvious the inspiration was taken from more than one Cinderella media source.
Overall, I can tell the author cared enough to really try with this, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read if you're a fan of the Eva books. I'll just continue to hold out hope that we get a sequel to this that gives Alliana the huge adventure she (and Kabo) deserves.