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Sunday, September 19, 2010

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

A hidden truth.

Mortal enemies.

Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy. Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses and ancient divide.

Review:

When I first saw this book and read the summary, I was thinking how completely and utterly unique the idea was--I mean, dragons? I was so there, and I'm so glad I was. Firelight turned out to be even better than I'd hoped.

First of all, Jacinda's character is great; there are so many conflicts she has to deal with throughout the book; having to move away from the only place she has ever known, to a desert that is the complete opposite of where her draki can survive, falling in love with a boy who she should hate, just knowing who he is and what his family does, coping with the unveiling of the truth behind the death of her father: All of this makes her more sturdy, makes her three-dimensional. She certainly does not have what I'm beginning to think of as the "Bella-syndrome", meaning her personality falls flat and she is so unlikeable its ridiculous. I'm glad to say that I liked Jacinda from the start; she had the spunk and flare I love to find in a main character, and was an honestly good person, despite her somewhat idiotic--but understandable--decisions at times in the novel. I absolutely loved the instant romance and rocky relationship between her and Will (who is, of course, yet another dreamy male to add to our list of great YA guys), which had the classic Romeo and Juliet feel that makes us all swoon.

Furthermore, the writing itself was fabulous--a score for Sophie Jordan--and the plot was outstanding. The dragon/draki aspect was something entirely new and fresh to read about, and it was carried out perfectly; the idea was so strong and different that it in itself made the book amazing, and took it away from the standard YA shape-shifting stereotypes straight off the bat.

All in all, the book was fantastic, and a major step forward in the imaginativeness of YA authors today. I'd recommend it to fans of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and the Otherworldies (for a younger audience) by Jennifer Anne Kogler.


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1 comment:

The Best Fleet Repair Kent Premier Automotive Services said...

Great. Quick read. Fairly fast paced fantasy series I found very enjoyable and fresh being about evolution of dragons that can change into humans.

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