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Monday, December 12, 2011

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn





Published by
ISBN 9780061547904
309 pages
Series? No
Rating: PG-13
BUY / Nook



On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them.

But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon interactions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war?

In her young-adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a distinctly twenty-first-century tale of myths and machines, and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide.
I received this book from the library.

I like books about dragons that look like dragons. That means that they are not human shaped and they most certainly don't have hair. I realize that I should probably stop complaining about Firelight by Sophie Jordan but I just really hated that book and it was the most recent book on dragons that I have read. So I was really excited to read a book with actual dragons and not dragon-like things but that is not how it went for me.

The book starts out with Kay rock-climbing near the border. Not because she wants an adventure but because she wants to get away from her female best friend who is pressuring her to have sex with her guy best friend. Which is just weird because if Tam really was her best friend she would not be pressuring her and isn't it usually the person in the relationship doing the pressuring, male or female it does happen, not the person who should be having your best interests in mind. In the beginning I really liked Tam because I thought it added a bit of depth to the book. It showed that even though the book had dragons and was fantastical they still had problems that teens who don't live there had. The problem was that it quickly became apparent to me that pressuring sex on Kay was Tam's only reason to be. After her first few appearance the only thing she does is say one line and make out or run off to have sex with her boyfriend, Carson. I did not finish the book and all I can feel is relief that I won't have to read another one of those conversations.

Back to Kay. So she goes rock-climbing. Not to a place where she is allowed but a distinctly off limits spot because 'there be dragons.' She does not want to do anything bad. She just wants to be left alone. She falls, is saved by a dragon, blah, blah, blah, they talk. Over the course of weekly meetings they become friends. And then they fly. Artegal and Kay did not seem like friends. I got the feeling that Kay was using him and if it was not for the fact that every relationship in the book was so horrible I would think that Kay was using him. The relationships feel forced. Even Carson and Tam don't feel real and they spend all of their book time eating each other's face off. Vaughn tries to paint Kay as the 'good girl' who only wants to do the right thing. The problem is that she needs conflict and so she makes at lot of what she does a 'good intentions pave the road to hell' type of scenario. This makes the main character Kay come off as really stupid. Should be taken out back and shot before she pushes the button to self-destruct the earth stupid. It does not make for a good or enjoyable read.

I read somewhere that Carrie Vaughn had been sent many letters asking if there was to be a sequel. It could interpreted it to mean that everyone just loved her book that much. After reading the end of the book though  I have to say that without a sequel very few people will enjoy this book because the ending is a huge cliffhanger. It did not feel resolved in any way and while that may have been because of the fact that I did not finish the book it could also have to do with the fact that the end is so incomplete.

I would not be able to recommend this book.

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