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jberryedits's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It dragged throughout most of the story, but it was interesting enough that my daughter wanted us to finish. It could have started later and been 100 pages shorter, but the story elements are all there and are interesting.
angrynerd's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Heroes of Havensong: Dragonboy is the kickoff to a new fantasy middle grade series and boy does it kick. The story is fast paced, throws you into a deeply magical world and just says ‘GO!’. From dragons, to sentient magic dust clouds, and evil tyrants this book covers all the fantasy basics. There is even a prophecy foretelling of the Heroes!
Our story is told in alternating points of view, and in the begining in alternating timelines. We meet Blue, our Dragonboy, when he begins his journey. This is where things got a little confusing for me, and honestly I wonder if it won’t for a young reader. This starts ten years before the bulk of the rest of the novel. In fact the following 4 or 5 chapters all bounce between years leading up to the ‘The Fourth War’. You have to pay close attention to the chapter headings because otherwise you’re lost. From their we meet River, Wren, and Shenli. Each grows up somewhere different and has different views, gifts, and roles in the upcoming war.
The greatest strength in this for me was the believability of the characters. They felt the appropriate age and I can really see a lot of middle grade kids resonating with one or more of these characters. Did that mean that I didn’t feel like punching one in particular every time they made a choice? No. That kid drove me NUTS. But he made choices that I feel like a kid would make, mistakes a kid would make and that is going to work for it’s audience.
The world is complicated (maybe a bit too much) but full of wonder and magic that really kept me reading when I wanted to shake a child. For a middle grade reader I’d really recommend this. I loved the ideas and how well the characters read, and honestly - the magic dust cloud? Amazing idea.
The greatest strength in this for me was the believability of the characters. They felt the appropriate age and I can really see a lot of middle grade kids resonating with one or more of these characters. Did that mean that I didn’t feel like punching one in particular every time they made a choice? No. That kid drove me NUTS. But he made choices that I feel like a kid would make, mistakes a kid would make and that is going to work for it’s audience.
The world is complicated (maybe a bit too much) but full of wonder and magic that really kept me reading when I wanted to shake a child. For a middle grade reader I’d really recommend this. I loved the ideas and how well the characters read, and honestly - the magic dust cloud? Amazing idea.
Content Warnings
Minor: Xenophobia, Abandonment, Racism, Colonisation, and War
cathy_acasefullofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
What a fun middle grade fantasy! This had such a fun cast of characters, an interesting world, magic, and DRAGONS! I love dragons. It also had one of my favorite opening lines I've ever read in a book.
The pacing was a little bit slow for me, and the jumps between POVs sometimes got confusing. Overall, a solid middle grade and I'm intrigued enough to check out the next book when it comes out!
The pacing was a little bit slow for me, and the jumps between POVs sometimes got confusing. Overall, a solid middle grade and I'm intrigued enough to check out the next book when it comes out!
scoutabout's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
teaandspite's review against another edition
2.0
This book was trying to be a lot of things all at once and it didn't especially succeed at any of them.
As epic fantasy it's mediocre and rather unoriginal. As middle grade it's a bit too convoluted and slow for most of the age demographic. Any of the individual storylines could have made a decent start to a middle-grade series on its own, but when put together the story becomes...cluttered.
If nothing else, Reyes should have started about 150 pages later than she did. There's far too much set up that could have been put in more concisely later on to keep the pace from dragging. I don't think I know an 8-12 year old who would have gotten through those first 150 pages. They're just not especially compelling and they jump around too much to allow readers to sink into the story.
I do think either Wren or Blue's story could have been made into compelling books on their own. Ideally with the characters aged up slightly (quite a few parts read as if Reyes started with an adult epic fantasy and then aged the characters down for marketability), but neither story is completely unworkable with the characters as they are. The elements of a decent story are there, they're just undermined by the way Reyes decided to put them together.
(That said, I will probably pick up the sequel because I'm curious as to what happens even if the reading experience wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. Reyes is at least doing a little right.)
As epic fantasy it's mediocre and rather unoriginal. As middle grade it's a bit too convoluted and slow for most of the age demographic. Any of the individual storylines could have made a decent start to a middle-grade series on its own, but when put together the story becomes...cluttered.
If nothing else, Reyes should have started about 150 pages later than she did. There's far too much set up that could have been put in more concisely later on to keep the pace from dragging. I don't think I know an 8-12 year old who would have gotten through those first 150 pages. They're just not especially compelling and they jump around too much to allow readers to sink into the story.
I do think either Wren or Blue's story could have been made into compelling books on their own. Ideally with the characters aged up slightly (quite a few parts read as if Reyes started with an adult epic fantasy and then aged the characters down for marketability), but neither story is completely unworkable with the characters as they are. The elements of a decent story are there, they're just undermined by the way Reyes decided to put them together.
(That said, I will probably pick up the sequel because I'm curious as to what happens even if the reading experience wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. Reyes is at least doing a little right.)
fleurdefryc's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
noctuarie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“For there is one who can make amends- with the aid of three unlikely friends.”
I’ve been waiting to find a book that has the same spark as the stories I read when I was younger.
Heroes of Havensong has that spark. If I picked this up as a kid, I’m certain I’d have devoured it in a day. I loved this book as an adult and can barely find anything to criticize about it.
Megan Reyes does a wonderful job with this book. It balances the perspectives of four different characters, and I loved all of them. All of the characters feel rich and lively. They have their own stories and you can sympathize with them, even when two characters have opposite worldviews.
I was impressed by how much depth there is to this world. There are enough surface-level explanations that younger kids would like it, but also depth that older readers would enjoy when it comes to the characters and their struggles.
The magic is incredibly unique. From poofy clouds of hiccupping magic to dragons growing feathers, this magical world is full of surprises. I did wish there was a better explanation of how magic works- it’s a bit confusing what spells can be cast and what the limits are. But since it’s the start of a series it’ll likely be explained in more detail if there’s future books.
I hope this series continues, since it ends on a serious cliffhanger. Admittedly, I almost felt like it was too much of a cliffhanger and not enough was resolved. But I liked the rest of the book so much, I don’t mind the ending. It was so easy to get invested in this world!
Highly recommend this to any young readers looking for more fantastic fantasy books, especially if they love Percy Jackson or Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. It’s also perfect for any parents looking for a book they’ll genuinely enjoy reading to their kids!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC.
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