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faeonyx's reviews
64 reviews
The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
I thought that the writing style would be a little too simplistic for me when I first picked up this book, but that hasn't stopped me in reading other titles that I ended up enjoying. I am glad that I decided to read this one instead of shelving it. I was worried the beginning would be too slow, but it jumps into action right away and raises enough questions to keep turning the pages. I didn't sympathize with any of the earliest characters, but I found a lot that I liked very early on about the dragonets.
The personalities represented with the dragonets are vastly different from each other, and even more different from those of their caretakers. I think it is that difference that really drew me in. Everyone has felt like they are fighting against everything at one point or another, and that sort of struggle was set up here from the start. The dragonets are, for me, very easy to relate to because I came from an area where questioning authority was one of the worst things you could do, and everyone assumed "the kids" never knew what was best for them or what they should do in their lives.
The first book does have some instances where I wondered what the point of a certain explanation was or if the information given to me was going to be used later. I haven't finished the series yet, so that is to be seen. There are also instances where you learn a bit more about dragon culture, and it isn't always a satisfying resolution. Having said that, it is still interesting to see how each of the tribes function and how that brings the dragonets together while still setting their tribes apart. The little dragons have a massive task set in front of them, but they don't fully understand that yet, and the way the entire story is presented primarily through their eyes makes it difficult for the reader to understand the enormity of that task. Meeting the different dragon tribes and the introduction of characters that have been moving within these tribes makes that a little easier, however. The size of the task ahead of them unfolds as more information is presented.
The style of writing, which had me a little concerned at first, actually sets a wonderful pace for these books. I would call these easy reads because of the way it is presented and the language used, which is awesome. There is a huge amount of story inside each book and I've found it difficult to put them down. Even from the beginning, each character speaks with a strong personality and a detailed voice. It made it very easy for me to get lost within the pages. This has been an excellent start to the journey and I am very glad to have picked this series up.
The personalities represented with the dragonets are vastly different from each other, and even more different from those of their caretakers. I think it is that difference that really drew me in. Everyone has felt like they are fighting against everything at one point or another, and that sort of struggle was set up here from the start. The dragonets are, for me, very easy to relate to because I came from an area where questioning authority was one of the worst things you could do, and everyone assumed "the kids" never knew what was best for them or what they should do in their lives.
The first book does have some instances where I wondered what the point of a certain explanation was or if the information given to me was going to be used later. I haven't finished the series yet, so that is to be seen. There are also instances where you learn a bit more about dragon culture, and it isn't always a satisfying resolution. Having said that, it is still interesting to see how each of the tribes function and how that brings the dragonets together while still setting their tribes apart. The little dragons have a massive task set in front of them, but they don't fully understand that yet, and the way the entire story is presented primarily through their eyes makes it difficult for the reader to understand the enormity of that task. Meeting the different dragon tribes and the introduction of characters that have been moving within these tribes makes that a little easier, however. The size of the task ahead of them unfolds as more information is presented.
The style of writing, which had me a little concerned at first, actually sets a wonderful pace for these books. I would call these easy reads because of the way it is presented and the language used, which is awesome. There is a huge amount of story inside each book and I've found it difficult to put them down. Even from the beginning, each character speaks with a strong personality and a detailed voice. It made it very easy for me to get lost within the pages. This has been an excellent start to the journey and I am very glad to have picked this series up.
The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
This book wasn't really what I was expecting after the way the first book introduced the story. The series is on the long side (10 books) so it makes sense that it would be presented this way, and this second book gives an extremely in depth look at the kingdom of the SeaWings. It has the same wonderful, interesting pacing. The characters that are introduced are new and dynamic and interesting. Many of them have a lot to offer, and the story weaves itself in a way that teaches the dragonets and the reader even more about the task that lies before them. The interesting thing about it is that this task is revealed in smaller pieces, and the distance between all the tribes becomes such a huge reality when analyzing the differences between each tribe. No wonder they can't get along.
This book deals almost entirely with the politics of the SeaWings and talks a lot about the way the royal family does things. It deals with a personal problem that the Queen has been facing and a much darker, much more sinister issue that Tsunami must face. It also emphasizes how deep the distrust runs between the dragon tribes, especially now that the sisters are fighting so viciously. This part of the story was an interesting break from the war, and it showed that there are still problems at home that can't really be fixed by the bigger goal because of the way life works, even in the midst of a very serious war. Inside the individual kingdoms, the war seems so far away and like something that doesn't even need to be mentioned, almost. Tsunami and Queen Coral are more worried about personal family matters than anything else. It also introduces another of the three sisters. Both have been underwhelming.
The dragonets seem to be learning something by the end of this book. Twice now they have come in claiming who they were and claiming their destiny, and twice now they have been placed in prison because of that destiny. The first kept them as a form of entertainment/adornment and the second kept them under the pretense of keeping them safe until the point that they could end the war. There is also another, more sinister player, that entered the game. I can't say I was surprised by the development, but I was surprised by how readily it was revealed so early on in the series. It makes me think that there are a lot of other things that are going on in the background that will be much bigger than this singular betrayal. I am excited to finish the rest of the series, and there are tons more questions raised by this book than were answered so far.
This book deals almost entirely with the politics of the SeaWings and talks a lot about the way the royal family does things. It deals with a personal problem that the Queen has been facing and a much darker, much more sinister issue that Tsunami must face. It also emphasizes how deep the distrust runs between the dragon tribes, especially now that the sisters are fighting so viciously. This part of the story was an interesting break from the war, and it showed that there are still problems at home that can't really be fixed by the bigger goal because of the way life works, even in the midst of a very serious war. Inside the individual kingdoms, the war seems so far away and like something that doesn't even need to be mentioned, almost. Tsunami and Queen Coral are more worried about personal family matters than anything else. It also introduces another of the three sisters. Both have been underwhelming.
The dragonets seem to be learning something by the end of this book. Twice now they have come in claiming who they were and claiming their destiny, and twice now they have been placed in prison because of that destiny. The first kept them as a form of entertainment/adornment and the second kept them under the pretense of keeping them safe until the point that they could end the war. There is also another, more sinister player, that entered the game. I can't say I was surprised by the development, but I was surprised by how readily it was revealed so early on in the series. It makes me think that there are a lot of other things that are going on in the background that will be much bigger than this singular betrayal. I am excited to finish the rest of the series, and there are tons more questions raised by this book than were answered so far.
The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
The third installment to this series really picked up the pace in a surprising way. Having just escaped captivity under the shield of a surprise attack in the sea kingdom, the "dragonets of destiny" find themselves heading into the rain forest to seek out Glory's lost tribe. As with Clay and Tsunami, Glory has no idea what she will find and she spends a good amount of the early pages trying to clamp down her expectations. As long as she isn't rejected like Clay was by his mother, and as long as they don't try to hold her against her will like Tsunami's mother, then she figures it will be totally okay.
The reason this book is so interesting is because so little is known about the RainWings. It is assumed that they are lazy and useless and have no special qualities. However, we learned a secret about Glory in the first book, and she has no idea if other RainWings possess this power or not. None of the other dragons seem to know about it, either, but she is very interested in finding out if others of her tribe share that. She is also interested in learning if anyone missed her. Unfortunately, no one noticed her egg was missing. The RainWings keep all of their eggs together and then check for hatchlings every so often. The dragonets are then raised by the village and the only time anyone checks for reation is when the dragons are preparing to breed. It was definitely not the welcome that Glory was looking for.
However, this dynamic and the problem that is caused by it really give Glory the chance to grow and show her true character. The hardship she faces with no one caring about the missing dragons when she arrives pushes her to become the leader that she was never really sure she could be. It also shows her that there is a place for her inside the prophecy, even if she wasn't supposed to be there to begin with. What she discovers is an incredibly sinister side to the NightWings. It is something that was hinted at quite heavily in the earlier books, and Glory always knew they could not be trusted, but there is solid proof to that end presented in this book. She finds that they have been kidnapping RainWings to study their venom, but not what they are studying it for. It's pretty easy to figure out given the tone and clues surrounding the war, but the motives are lost on the dragonets.
The deeper the story gets, the more obvious it is that the dragonets have much bigger problems to face before even thinking about how to help putting an end to the war. They have a lot to learn about themselves, a lot to learn about the tribes, and even more to learn about how the different dragons interact, or not, with each other. There doesn't seem to be a lot of interaction between tribes until the war started, and now the dragonets have to deal with a world that is plagued by these horrible tensions. None of the three sisters seem like a great choice for a queen, and the situation just keeps getting worse. To top that all off, the NightWings clearly have their own agenda in all of this, and no one has managed to figure out what that is yet.
The characters are beginning to develop in some truly surprising ways. The first two books had a very heavy emphasis on the way that the prophecy had formed their lives, but this book is the first to really push the idea that they are more than capable of shaping their own destinies. Glory takes charge and changes the way things are going for her, and she learns a lot about herself and how she needs to rely on her friends in the process. StarFlight learns through her experience that the NightWings are not as great as he had imagined them to be. Overall, all of the dragonets have been more than a little disappointed by their experiences at home, but they have all shown an amazing adaptability to those situations. They have also shown that they can focus on problems facing each of the tribes individually instead of just caring about the overarching war around the world. These individual problems seem to be teaching the dragons how to think and fight for themselves as well as work together and ask for help.
The story has just started getting really interesting, and this novel was a great addition to the series. I love the way it takes a look into each of the tribes and explains how things work within them. I love how the reader discovers these things at the same time as the dragonets, and I enjoy that the knowledge is filtered through the dragonets' reactions to whatever they see or experience. It was a pleasure to read and very well presented.
The reason this book is so interesting is because so little is known about the RainWings. It is assumed that they are lazy and useless and have no special qualities. However, we learned a secret about Glory in the first book, and she has no idea if other RainWings possess this power or not. None of the other dragons seem to know about it, either, but she is very interested in finding out if others of her tribe share that. She is also interested in learning if anyone missed her. Unfortunately, no one noticed her egg was missing. The RainWings keep all of their eggs together and then check for hatchlings every so often. The dragonets are then raised by the village and the only time anyone checks for reation is when the dragons are preparing to breed. It was definitely not the welcome that Glory was looking for.
However, this dynamic and the problem that is caused by it really give Glory the chance to grow and show her true character. The hardship she faces with no one caring about the missing dragons when she arrives pushes her to become the leader that she was never really sure she could be. It also shows her that there is a place for her inside the prophecy, even if she wasn't supposed to be there to begin with. What she discovers is an incredibly sinister side to the NightWings. It is something that was hinted at quite heavily in the earlier books, and Glory always knew they could not be trusted, but there is solid proof to that end presented in this book. She finds that they have been kidnapping RainWings to study their venom, but not what they are studying it for. It's pretty easy to figure out given the tone and clues surrounding the war, but the motives are lost on the dragonets.
The deeper the story gets, the more obvious it is that the dragonets have much bigger problems to face before even thinking about how to help putting an end to the war. They have a lot to learn about themselves, a lot to learn about the tribes, and even more to learn about how the different dragons interact, or not, with each other. There doesn't seem to be a lot of interaction between tribes until the war started, and now the dragonets have to deal with a world that is plagued by these horrible tensions. None of the three sisters seem like a great choice for a queen, and the situation just keeps getting worse. To top that all off, the NightWings clearly have their own agenda in all of this, and no one has managed to figure out what that is yet.
The characters are beginning to develop in some truly surprising ways. The first two books had a very heavy emphasis on the way that the prophecy had formed their lives, but this book is the first to really push the idea that they are more than capable of shaping their own destinies. Glory takes charge and changes the way things are going for her, and she learns a lot about herself and how she needs to rely on her friends in the process. StarFlight learns through her experience that the NightWings are not as great as he had imagined them to be. Overall, all of the dragonets have been more than a little disappointed by their experiences at home, but they have all shown an amazing adaptability to those situations. They have also shown that they can focus on problems facing each of the tribes individually instead of just caring about the overarching war around the world. These individual problems seem to be teaching the dragons how to think and fight for themselves as well as work together and ask for help.
The story has just started getting really interesting, and this novel was a great addition to the series. I love the way it takes a look into each of the tribes and explains how things work within them. I love how the reader discovers these things at the same time as the dragonets, and I enjoy that the knowledge is filtered through the dragonets' reactions to whatever they see or experience. It was a pleasure to read and very well presented.
The Dark Secret by Mike Holmes, Tui T. Sutherland
4.0
Yet again, this book takes readers to a new location in the world and focuses on a different group of dragons. This time, the primary narrator is Starflight, the NightWing of prophecy, and he is home with his tribe on the horrible volcanic island they have been living on. Perhaps the most interesting discovery is that the NightWings, for all their mystery and study and mystical powers they try to push, are little more than vultures. The vast majority of them eat carrion and have bacteria in their mouths that cause terrible infections to the living creatures that have been bitten. Starflight and Fatespeaker seem to not have this ability because they were not fed a steady diet of rotting carcasses as they were growing up, lending them to fall ill if they were to eat the same food that the other NightWings do.
The previous books had a lot of talk about the NightWings being insufferable and believing themselves to be better than all of the other dragons in the world. This book proves that to be painfully true in a way that almost makes it difficult to read. Starflight has been captured and is being held prisoner, sort of. That has more to do with the fact that he is too frightened to try and escape than anything else, so he goes along with Morrowseer's tests and doesn't really get along with anyone. This is also the first time that any of the TRUE dragonets of destiny have discovered that there is an alternate group lying in wait. Starflight's disappointment in his tribe is multiplied when he learns about the cruel experiments on RainWing dragons and figures out the reason behind those experiments. The NightWing's live on a dangerous, dying island, and they need a new territory. They support Blister because she has (in Starflight's best guesses) decided to give them the territory in the rain forest, but the RainWing's have a very dangerous venom. Starflight's own father is the dragon researching that and trying to model something to protect the dragons from it so they can take the rain forest by force once the war is finished.
Even with that knowledge, Starflight still refuses to act or risk anything to get the information back to his friends. He does find one of the fabled dreamvisitor stones and tries to use that to communicate with a dragon. It doesn't work, but he does get to stick around long enough to find out Glory believes he has gone back to betray them and warn the NightWing's of her plan of attack. In the meantime, he is subjected to even more of Morrowseer's tests and even more of simply floundering around while being too afraid to do anything for himself. He does seem to have found a friend in Fatespeaker, especially since both of their lives are on the line considering this whole prophecy thing.
This book is the first one that hints that the "scavengers" might be more important than the dragons are willing to admit to themselves. It also shows that the NightWings do hold a significant amount of knowledge that they have been keeping back from the other dragon tribes. The NightWings seem to be painted as the true villains here, even more than any of the others. They know things that others don't. They have an extremely detailed map of the world. They are cruel and hard and not really up to listening to anyone for any reason, but all of this may have been the subtle push Starflight needed in the right direction to become something better than what he was, something stronger.
The characters make it really difficult to know who to trust, and it is hard to see where the story might be heading. The second you think you can trust someone, it turns out not to be quite what you expected. Occasionally, those that seem like they might not be trustworthy turn out to be much better than you expected. It's interesting to see how that works within the tribes and with how the tribes act with each other. As always, things get worse before they start to get better.
The previous books had a lot of talk about the NightWings being insufferable and believing themselves to be better than all of the other dragons in the world. This book proves that to be painfully true in a way that almost makes it difficult to read. Starflight has been captured and is being held prisoner, sort of. That has more to do with the fact that he is too frightened to try and escape than anything else, so he goes along with Morrowseer's tests and doesn't really get along with anyone. This is also the first time that any of the TRUE dragonets of destiny have discovered that there is an alternate group lying in wait. Starflight's disappointment in his tribe is multiplied when he learns about the cruel experiments on RainWing dragons and figures out the reason behind those experiments. The NightWing's live on a dangerous, dying island, and they need a new territory. They support Blister because she has (in Starflight's best guesses) decided to give them the territory in the rain forest, but the RainWing's have a very dangerous venom. Starflight's own father is the dragon researching that and trying to model something to protect the dragons from it so they can take the rain forest by force once the war is finished.
Even with that knowledge, Starflight still refuses to act or risk anything to get the information back to his friends. He does find one of the fabled dreamvisitor stones and tries to use that to communicate with a dragon. It doesn't work, but he does get to stick around long enough to find out Glory believes he has gone back to betray them and warn the NightWing's of her plan of attack. In the meantime, he is subjected to even more of Morrowseer's tests and even more of simply floundering around while being too afraid to do anything for himself. He does seem to have found a friend in Fatespeaker, especially since both of their lives are on the line considering this whole prophecy thing.
This book is the first one that hints that the "scavengers" might be more important than the dragons are willing to admit to themselves. It also shows that the NightWings do hold a significant amount of knowledge that they have been keeping back from the other dragon tribes. The NightWings seem to be painted as the true villains here, even more than any of the others. They know things that others don't. They have an extremely detailed map of the world. They are cruel and hard and not really up to listening to anyone for any reason, but all of this may have been the subtle push Starflight needed in the right direction to become something better than what he was, something stronger.
The characters make it really difficult to know who to trust, and it is hard to see where the story might be heading. The second you think you can trust someone, it turns out not to be quite what you expected. Occasionally, those that seem like they might not be trustworthy turn out to be much better than you expected. It's interesting to see how that works within the tribes and with how the tribes act with each other. As always, things get worse before they start to get better.
Moon Rising by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
I definitely thought that this book wouldn't be anywhere near as good as the previous books because it seemed like there was such a good and such a definite end to the others. This one, however, takes place at the very beginning of an experiment dealing with the school that the dragonets of destiny have set up. I also didn't think I would like the main character of this book, but she turned out to have a very interesting personality and a strong, clear voice. It made it a lot easier to get into than I had initially thought it would be.
This book starts with Moonwatcher being dropped off at the school by her mother. She is given a very strict warning to keep her powers a secret because no one believes that the NightWings have the powers of mind reading or prophecy anymore. This leaves Moon to struggle with a secret that she can't share with anyone. It leaves her open and vulnerable to all of the influences around her, including one that might (or might not) be sinister. She has no idea how to use, interpret, or control her powers. She is left defenseless against the onslaught of people's thoughts. Her reluctance to tell anyone about her powers also doesn't win her any friends in the beginning. She can't turn off the ability and the only lessons she gets are from the voice of Darkstalker. Moon has, of course, never heard of him before, but he is something of a NightWing ghost story, and he is the only other NightWing that can help her understand. The problem is that he is trapped somewhere because of what his friends did to him, and she doesn't know where that is. He talks to her in her mind.
Moon, as well as the reader, doesn't really know what to believe. Darkstalker tells one story about himself and his immensely powerful gift of foresight in which he can see all of the possible futures spread out before him. He makes the case that all he ever wanted was to be a benevolent ruler. He found a way to make himself immortal, and there are stories saying that he has murdered countless dragons and used his animus powers for evil. Having never heard anything about him, Moon (and the reader) don't know what to believe. He has an ominous feeling about him, but there's not been a lot of information about him before now. He was mentioned once in the last book, and all of the NightWings seem to be afraid of him and his power. With the immortality, there was no way to kill him and they were only able to imprison him, but he has woken up.
This leaves Moon dealing with her own thoughts and discomfort as well as the thoughts and guidance coming from Darkstalker. She does her best to hide her powers until she gets a vision of the history room exploding. Her warning comes too late, however, and two of the dragons that were inside ended up dying. Suspicion is planted firmly on her until the members of her winglet realize that she had a vision of it happening. She begs them to keep her secret, but they are all suspicious of her and a little angry. She resolves, with the help of Turtle and Qibli, to find out who had really caused the attack and see what can be done about it. When she succeeds, she not only outs Sora as the murderer, but finds out a sinister secret about Icicle, as well. Icicle flees the school, and Winter is close behind her, heading out to look for his brother. With no other choice, the other dragonets of Moon's winglet head out to help Winter. Moon has also learned that the pieces of the comet that fell to earth keep her from hearing other dragons' thoughts. She gives each of them a piece of it from Turtle's armband.
Something that I have really grown to appreciate about these books is that it is so hard to tell which characters you can and can't trust. The author has done an incredible job keeping their motivations hidden and secret, and this book is a shining example of that. Darkstalker is a mysterious figure, and there are hints at his power and what he thinks about that power, but it is hard to be sure if he is helping Moon or manipulating her. It is so hard to see what his ultimate goal is aside from simply getting out of his stony prison. Moon has her own motivations, but she seems like the sort of dragon that COULD be manipulated by someone like Darkstalker. However, once she found the solid comfort of her friends, it seems like she might be able to make her own choices, after all.
Scarlet is still part of the equation, too, but at least we know she is a truly evil dragon and not someone that could turn out to be anything. She seems to have more help coming from other places, however, and it is difficult to tell who it might be beside her this time. Peril is at the school. Icicle hasn't had time to get to her yet. Sora and Umbra also disappeared due to Sora's outburst and attempts at revenge. Once again, the book raises more questions than it answers, and ends with Moon delivering her first real prophecy. If they can't bring about the end to something and find the night city, the academy will fall. The question is, was it truly a prophecy, or was it something else that Darkstalker has been using to manipulate Moon with?
This book starts with Moonwatcher being dropped off at the school by her mother. She is given a very strict warning to keep her powers a secret because no one believes that the NightWings have the powers of mind reading or prophecy anymore. This leaves Moon to struggle with a secret that she can't share with anyone. It leaves her open and vulnerable to all of the influences around her, including one that might (or might not) be sinister. She has no idea how to use, interpret, or control her powers. She is left defenseless against the onslaught of people's thoughts. Her reluctance to tell anyone about her powers also doesn't win her any friends in the beginning. She can't turn off the ability and the only lessons she gets are from the voice of Darkstalker. Moon has, of course, never heard of him before, but he is something of a NightWing ghost story, and he is the only other NightWing that can help her understand. The problem is that he is trapped somewhere because of what his friends did to him, and she doesn't know where that is. He talks to her in her mind.
Moon, as well as the reader, doesn't really know what to believe. Darkstalker tells one story about himself and his immensely powerful gift of foresight in which he can see all of the possible futures spread out before him. He makes the case that all he ever wanted was to be a benevolent ruler. He found a way to make himself immortal, and there are stories saying that he has murdered countless dragons and used his animus powers for evil. Having never heard anything about him, Moon (and the reader) don't know what to believe. He has an ominous feeling about him, but there's not been a lot of information about him before now. He was mentioned once in the last book, and all of the NightWings seem to be afraid of him and his power. With the immortality, there was no way to kill him and they were only able to imprison him, but he has woken up.
This leaves Moon dealing with her own thoughts and discomfort as well as the thoughts and guidance coming from Darkstalker. She does her best to hide her powers until she gets a vision of the history room exploding. Her warning comes too late, however, and two of the dragons that were inside ended up dying. Suspicion is planted firmly on her until the members of her winglet realize that she had a vision of it happening. She begs them to keep her secret, but they are all suspicious of her and a little angry. She resolves, with the help of Turtle and Qibli, to find out who had really caused the attack and see what can be done about it. When she succeeds, she not only outs Sora as the murderer, but finds out a sinister secret about Icicle, as well. Icicle flees the school, and Winter is close behind her, heading out to look for his brother. With no other choice, the other dragonets of Moon's winglet head out to help Winter. Moon has also learned that the pieces of the comet that fell to earth keep her from hearing other dragons' thoughts. She gives each of them a piece of it from Turtle's armband.
Something that I have really grown to appreciate about these books is that it is so hard to tell which characters you can and can't trust. The author has done an incredible job keeping their motivations hidden and secret, and this book is a shining example of that. Darkstalker is a mysterious figure, and there are hints at his power and what he thinks about that power, but it is hard to be sure if he is helping Moon or manipulating her. It is so hard to see what his ultimate goal is aside from simply getting out of his stony prison. Moon has her own motivations, but she seems like the sort of dragon that COULD be manipulated by someone like Darkstalker. However, once she found the solid comfort of her friends, it seems like she might be able to make her own choices, after all.
Scarlet is still part of the equation, too, but at least we know she is a truly evil dragon and not someone that could turn out to be anything. She seems to have more help coming from other places, however, and it is difficult to tell who it might be beside her this time. Peril is at the school. Icicle hasn't had time to get to her yet. Sora and Umbra also disappeared due to Sora's outburst and attempts at revenge. Once again, the book raises more questions than it answers, and ends with Moon delivering her first real prophecy. If they can't bring about the end to something and find the night city, the academy will fall. The question is, was it truly a prophecy, or was it something else that Darkstalker has been using to manipulate Moon with?
The Brightest Night by Mike Holmes, Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
This book is almost entirely Sunny's story, which was an interesting take on things since Sunny is typically one of the background dragons. She gets pushed back to a position where she is almost ignored, and the other dragons think that she is cute and helpless because she doesn't have the barb on her tail. She certainly doesn't look like other SandWings and there seems to be no real explanation for that. Sunny often wonders about it herself, but she doesn't find herself any less important because of it. Her story starts off with an attempted kidnapping and her cleverly escaping. Instead of getting the others, however, she decides to follow the three NightWings on her own and they lead her on a journey across the sands.
The one thing that Sunny does know about her story is that her egg was found far away from everything else, near the Scorpion Den and hidden away. She never thought to ask much about what was going on, but fortunately she discovered the NightWings were heading to the Scorpion Den to get a message to Queen Burn about knowing where the dragonets of destiny were. They also had the advantage of an onyx mirror that allowed them to see conversations between dragons they knew. Sunny gets something in her scales and successfully steals this. It gives her the ability to keep track of them from a distance, but even all of that ends when she gets close to the Scorpion Den. The leader wants to talk to all of them, including her.
Fortunately for Sunny, this is just the stroke of luck she really needed. The leader of the Outclaws just happens to be her mother, and she takes the NightWings prisoner (after killing one of them). Unfortunately, not everyone in the Scorpion Den is thrilled to have a dragonet of destiny in their midst and one takes her to Queen Burn's castle after an underhanded trade. Burn isn't there, but her brother is more than happy to take matters into his own claws, even though he is a much gentler soul. He has no choice. Sunny's mom, Thorn, isn't far behind, however, and makes an effort to storm the castle and save her. The day is saved by Peril, who has come to rescue the only mother she has ever known, Scarlet. That part of the story falls to the background as Thorn and Sunny finally make their escape, but Sunny must leave. She returns to the rain forest with a plan of attack.
With a comet growing closer and expanding in the sky, the dragonets form a plan to get the three sisters together to try and end this peacefully. Burn and Blister don't see things that way, and Burn ends up dying to a snake bite. It was a little scavenger that ended up getting the item required for the queen, and Sunny chooses to hand that over to Thorn. Blister dies in an attempt to take it, but Blaze swears allegiance to this new queen to keep herself alive. With the entire situation resolved, it seemed like this would be the perfect end to the series, but there are plenty more books to come.
This book was interesting because it showed the immense strength of the dragon that everyone underestimated. Sunny was really the only one out of her group that got the homecoming she had longed for, and she learned that she was a hybrid dragon. Her mother was a SandWing and her father was a NightWing, which is why she ended up with no real powers of her own and had the missing barb on the end of her tail. Her mother had been looking for her for years, even going so far as to offer a reward. Her parents wanted her. She was loved and desired. It was the best homecoming she could have asked for, and maybe that was part of what gave her the courage to speak her mind and bring her plan to fruition. With everything wrapped up so nicely, it seemed like a good end, but there were more stories to be told.
The one thing that Sunny does know about her story is that her egg was found far away from everything else, near the Scorpion Den and hidden away. She never thought to ask much about what was going on, but fortunately she discovered the NightWings were heading to the Scorpion Den to get a message to Queen Burn about knowing where the dragonets of destiny were. They also had the advantage of an onyx mirror that allowed them to see conversations between dragons they knew. Sunny gets something in her scales and successfully steals this. It gives her the ability to keep track of them from a distance, but even all of that ends when she gets close to the Scorpion Den. The leader wants to talk to all of them, including her.
Fortunately for Sunny, this is just the stroke of luck she really needed. The leader of the Outclaws just happens to be her mother, and she takes the NightWings prisoner (after killing one of them). Unfortunately, not everyone in the Scorpion Den is thrilled to have a dragonet of destiny in their midst and one takes her to Queen Burn's castle after an underhanded trade. Burn isn't there, but her brother is more than happy to take matters into his own claws, even though he is a much gentler soul. He has no choice. Sunny's mom, Thorn, isn't far behind, however, and makes an effort to storm the castle and save her. The day is saved by Peril, who has come to rescue the only mother she has ever known, Scarlet. That part of the story falls to the background as Thorn and Sunny finally make their escape, but Sunny must leave. She returns to the rain forest with a plan of attack.
With a comet growing closer and expanding in the sky, the dragonets form a plan to get the three sisters together to try and end this peacefully. Burn and Blister don't see things that way, and Burn ends up dying to a snake bite. It was a little scavenger that ended up getting the item required for the queen, and Sunny chooses to hand that over to Thorn. Blister dies in an attempt to take it, but Blaze swears allegiance to this new queen to keep herself alive. With the entire situation resolved, it seemed like this would be the perfect end to the series, but there are plenty more books to come.
This book was interesting because it showed the immense strength of the dragon that everyone underestimated. Sunny was really the only one out of her group that got the homecoming she had longed for, and she learned that she was a hybrid dragon. Her mother was a SandWing and her father was a NightWing, which is why she ended up with no real powers of her own and had the missing barb on the end of her tail. Her mother had been looking for her for years, even going so far as to offer a reward. Her parents wanted her. She was loved and desired. It was the best homecoming she could have asked for, and maybe that was part of what gave her the courage to speak her mind and bring her plan to fruition. With everything wrapped up so nicely, it seemed like a good end, but there were more stories to be told.
Winter Turning by Tui T. Sutherland
5.0
This book brings us into the story about how Winter realizes that he isn't actually doing the best on his own, and that dragons from other tribes aren't necessarily the enemy. The interesting thing about this book is that it really starts to explore the way each tribe feels about themselves in comparison to everyone else. It shows how this strange sort of tribe loyalty is hidden away inside of the teachings of every tribe. Everyone knows that the NightWings believed themselves to be superior to all of the other tribes, and that went unquestioned because of their abilities to read minds and see the future. What is discussed less is that all of the other tribes also believe they are better than everyone else. We don't actually see a lot of that until we really get into Winter's head. Fortunately, even though Moon has given her friends the rocks to block her out, Winter is the one telling this story so we don't lose the insight into his inner thoughts. We spend a lot of time in his head as he examines his conflicted teachings versus what he knows to be true about the dragons with him and what he has been told over the years.
IceWings are superior to all the other races, and Winter should have either been able to simply help his sister complete her goals to bring their brother back, or he should be able to do it on his own without any help whatsoever. What he does end up learning is that the IceWing way of thinking may not always be the best. His initial plan was to head back to the Ice Kingdom and ask others for help to go after his brother, but the dragonets in his winglet suggested that they might have better luck if they went to the rainforest to look for Icicle. After all, she was the best lead they had to finding Scarlet and Winter's brother. It made sense that she would head to the rainforest because Glory was the dragonet that Scarlet hated most after what she did to her face. Winter hated to admit it, but it did make the most sense. He spent most of the flight there trying to figure out how to make himself hate Moon and how to slip away from his unwanted friends once everything was said and done.
They found the rainforest already on high alert after Moon had warned Sunny and Sunny had passed the information on to Glory. Deathbringer tried to arrest Winter, but Glory stepped in and welcome Winter like visiting royalty. It was unexpected and he was quite taken aback by the way he was spoken to. However, Glory still recognized that they were dragonets and ordered them into hiding while her dragons looked for the threat. Once again, Winter's winglet figured out a way to escape so they could find Icicle first. They did, and she was in incredibly bad shape. Icicle had not slept in days for fear of Scarlet visiting her in her dreams and telling her that Hailstorm had been killed for her failure. The RainWings tranquilized her and before she fell asleep, Winter promised to kill Glory and get their brother back. Moon later discovered this plot during Scarlet's visit in Icicle's dreams, but she didn't believe Winter would do it. Instead, they set out (against Glory's better judgment) to find Scarlet and bring Hailstorm home without killing anyone.
Moon had gotten a glimpse of the location that Scarlet had been hiding in the dream visit, so she sketched it out and Deathbringer suggested they talk to the Talons of Peace. They did, and that was where they managed to pick up Pyrite. Pyrite was an enormous oddity of a dragon, and Moon even mentioned that Pyrite's thoughts were rather dull and a little disturbing, always circling back on the same loop of loyalty to Scarlet. Her guidance, however, was what helped them find the place where Scarlet had been. Unfortunately, she'd moved her camp after being alerted to their arrival, probably through Pyrite's dreams. She then visited Winter in his dream, alerting the dragonets to the fact that she had seen him, and that let them find her hiding place. Without getting too close, Moon was able to read her thoughts and everything came back to Pyrite. They assumed that Pyrite had something to do with it, but it turned out that the pouch held magic that turned Hailstorm into Pyrite. It was unlike anything that Winter had ever seen, but at least they could go home.
The book ends with Hailstorm facing Winter in the Diamond Trial, which only one of them could survive. After facing off and deciding that neither of them could kill the other, Hailstorm leaves to claim victory and Winter hangs back so he can escape at a later time, but he decides to wake their foe and take her with him. Foeslayer was found in the cave, and she said that she and Prince Arctic had fallen in love, not that she had stolen him away. As the mother of Darkstalker, and a useful ally that might be able to help him, he frees her and decides to go back and find his friends.
This book was glorious in the sense that it gave us a lot more information about Darkstalker from a different perspective, but it is still incredibly hard to read his motives because Moon can't see as deeply into his thoughts as he can hers. However, Winter's capacity for forgiveness has grown immensely, which is especially shown in the fact that he is willing to give Foeslayer the benefit of the doubt without even really knowing her. He is changing, and it is this kind of change of heart that is the only thing that will keep the peace between dragon tribes for longer than a few years. He seems to be laying the sort of foundation for a generation of dragons that might be willing to start looking at the world a little differently. Peace is better than war, but it is difficult to forgive the crimes that were committed during those years. It will take a lot of dragons like Winter to make that a reality, on all sides.
IceWings are superior to all the other races, and Winter should have either been able to simply help his sister complete her goals to bring their brother back, or he should be able to do it on his own without any help whatsoever. What he does end up learning is that the IceWing way of thinking may not always be the best. His initial plan was to head back to the Ice Kingdom and ask others for help to go after his brother, but the dragonets in his winglet suggested that they might have better luck if they went to the rainforest to look for Icicle. After all, she was the best lead they had to finding Scarlet and Winter's brother. It made sense that she would head to the rainforest because Glory was the dragonet that Scarlet hated most after what she did to her face. Winter hated to admit it, but it did make the most sense. He spent most of the flight there trying to figure out how to make himself hate Moon and how to slip away from his unwanted friends once everything was said and done.
They found the rainforest already on high alert after Moon had warned Sunny and Sunny had passed the information on to Glory. Deathbringer tried to arrest Winter, but Glory stepped in and welcome Winter like visiting royalty. It was unexpected and he was quite taken aback by the way he was spoken to. However, Glory still recognized that they were dragonets and ordered them into hiding while her dragons looked for the threat. Once again, Winter's winglet figured out a way to escape so they could find Icicle first. They did, and she was in incredibly bad shape. Icicle had not slept in days for fear of Scarlet visiting her in her dreams and telling her that Hailstorm had been killed for her failure. The RainWings tranquilized her and before she fell asleep, Winter promised to kill Glory and get their brother back. Moon later discovered this plot during Scarlet's visit in Icicle's dreams, but she didn't believe Winter would do it. Instead, they set out (against Glory's better judgment) to find Scarlet and bring Hailstorm home without killing anyone.
Moon had gotten a glimpse of the location that Scarlet had been hiding in the dream visit, so she sketched it out and Deathbringer suggested they talk to the Talons of Peace. They did, and that was where they managed to pick up Pyrite. Pyrite was an enormous oddity of a dragon, and Moon even mentioned that Pyrite's thoughts were rather dull and a little disturbing, always circling back on the same loop of loyalty to Scarlet. Her guidance, however, was what helped them find the place where Scarlet had been. Unfortunately, she'd moved her camp after being alerted to their arrival, probably through Pyrite's dreams. She then visited Winter in his dream, alerting the dragonets to the fact that she had seen him, and that let them find her hiding place. Without getting too close, Moon was able to read her thoughts and everything came back to Pyrite. They assumed that Pyrite had something to do with it, but it turned out that the pouch held magic that turned Hailstorm into Pyrite. It was unlike anything that Winter had ever seen, but at least they could go home.
The book ends with Hailstorm facing Winter in the Diamond Trial, which only one of them could survive. After facing off and deciding that neither of them could kill the other, Hailstorm leaves to claim victory and Winter hangs back so he can escape at a later time, but he decides to wake their foe and take her with him. Foeslayer was found in the cave, and she said that she and Prince Arctic had fallen in love, not that she had stolen him away. As the mother of Darkstalker, and a useful ally that might be able to help him, he frees her and decides to go back and find his friends.
This book was glorious in the sense that it gave us a lot more information about Darkstalker from a different perspective, but it is still incredibly hard to read his motives because Moon can't see as deeply into his thoughts as he can hers. However, Winter's capacity for forgiveness has grown immensely, which is especially shown in the fact that he is willing to give Foeslayer the benefit of the doubt without even really knowing her. He is changing, and it is this kind of change of heart that is the only thing that will keep the peace between dragon tribes for longer than a few years. He seems to be laying the sort of foundation for a generation of dragons that might be willing to start looking at the world a little differently. Peace is better than war, but it is difficult to forgive the crimes that were committed during those years. It will take a lot of dragons like Winter to make that a reality, on all sides.