Really great story. Kay, the human main character and Artegal, a dragon seem so realistic as characters. Both are adolescents that act like it, meaning a bit reckless and adventure seeking without becoming annoying or idiotic. Really Kay seems like such a normal and real teenager, she’s doesn’t have super powers, she’s not a genius or have any physically extraordinary skills/training, her personality traits are not exaggerated and her emotions are justifiable(she’s not a cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat for no reason type). Artegal is also normal, for a dragon. He’s not royalty, a rare type of dragon, super powerful or fast compared to other dragons, he’s not emotional unstable (berserker), or plotting nefarious schemes.
The reason why they decide to communicate is simple, “why not?” Oh, and its against the law... well that’s adolescence for you. Simple but believable. And the story sets up their initial encounter nicely, it didn’t feel forced or completely far-fetched. I knew it was going to happen of course, but it didn’t feel as set up and contrived as other human-mythological being first meetings, it felt like a happy coincidence. And from there the story flowed so naturally. Life went on normally for Kay, things in her life stayed the same and some things changed. And then like life is wont to do, Kay is thrown a hard, fast, life changing curveball.
Sometimes big changes in life happen quickly and it happens to Kay. And we follow her as she struggles to find out what she can do, what she has to do so things come out okay. And in the end she’s scared and unsure but she does what she thinks is right. The choice she makes is a hard one and the consequences of it are unknown. Usually I dislike stories that leave open endings, but in this case I think it is extremely appropriate. The decision Kay and Artegal make is so monumental the consequences and influence of it will ripple throughout time long after they are gone. And the forces and thoughts they are trying to change/impact are ones dating back to the beginning of humanity and other living creatures. So I’m glad the author didn’t make a quick “happily ever after” wrap up ending for the story. Because that wouldn’t happen in real life, in fact it hasn’t. Prejudice and fear-aggression are still evident in our society. That Kay and Artegal even try to go up against it is what I would call being truly brave and selfless. The story also makes a point of bring up a reoccurring question we’ve all probably heard in some form: why can’t we(humans) all just get along with each other and other living beings on this plant without feeling like we have to dominate and control them first. A good question that as of yet doesn’t have an answer bringing depth and opportunity for reflection into the mix and adds to the sensibility of having an open ending.
To wrap it up, I love that this book is so down-to-earth and realistic (even though there are dragons in them) and everything about it seems to occur naturally. I like the main characters Kay and Artegal to the point where if they were real I’d like to know them. Also while Kay is the main focus of the story, there is enough of Artegal where I can honestly say this is a book about a friendship between a human and a dragon. In many other books (some that even feature dragons on the cover) treat dragons (even those that are sentient, intelligent, and communicative) as background characters (there to give a little flavor or help the plot along but forgettable and not really important) and mere beasts of burden (really in some cases a horse or a dog would have been reasonable substitutes but it seems like authors chose dragons instead for no reason other than to bring in a popular fantasy element). So I like that this book actually delivered a dragon in the forefront of the story and made Artegal a key character. And I think that this author made a good choice selecting dragons are the counterparts, considering our ancient history with them and that if they were non-mythological ordinary animals I wouldn’t see them as an intimidating factor to the characters/humans in the story.
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It was exactly what I was expecting.
Kay loves her small town. There are great rocks to climb and everything is pretty quiet. When one of her climbs ends with her falling into the ice-cold river that separates the human lands from the dragon’s, a young dragon named Artegal saves her and the quickly become friends. When conflict over the border leads to an all-out war, can Kay and Artegal’s friendship help put an end to it?I enjoyed this novel and am happy to report that is was exactly what I was expecting. Which was nice.The setting was simplistic and in many ways it reminded me of the small town where I grew up. Kay’s town seemed small without being obsolete. Though, I would add having an active air base so near the town made me wonder why it wasn’t larger.Kay is an intriguing charater, very realistic in her thoughts and actions. Her reasons for climbing that rock in the first place and her natural fear upon encountering a dragon for the first time are exactly what one might expect in a young teen. Well, not every teen goes rock climbing to deal with stress, but the stress she is feeling, and what is causing it, are realistic.The friendship between Artegal and Kay is born from rebellion, the knowledge that they are both breaking the law in order to learn about each other, doesn’t deter them. This is, of course, nothing new as countless friendships have been formed under such circumstances.There wasn’t much to the war itself, it was a background event that played a very small part in the long run. Besides some obscure references to it, and one death, there was little mention of what was actually transpiring.The ending was not anything like I was expecting and was somewhat unsatisfying. I feel as though the book was meant to draw the reader toward book two, but in my opinion, it was more like it just stopped. That said, I would like to continue with the series.I would give this novel four out of five stars and I would recommend it to fans of modernized dragon novels.I bought my copy of this novel from bookoutlet.com and the picture above is my own.
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