I found this to be a strong young adult fantasy novel about a girl who attends a dragon rider academy. What separates it from every other book that has done this before is its refreshing native American viewpoint and deep allegorical messages about the effects of colonialism.
It begins with the main character, Anequs, living with her native community on the island of Masqupaug. This is a fantasy world with many parallels to the real America of the 19th century. On encountering a dragon's egg and bonding with the new hatchling, she is quickly thrust into a very different society when she must enrol at the 'Academy of Natural Philosophy and Skiltakraft'. There she must learn to adapt and deal with the rules and expectations of the peoples who had conquered the land, the Anglish and the Vaskosish. Anequs manages to retain a sense her tribal identity, develop relationships with those students willing to engage with her and also progress in the academic studies, all despite the prejudice and exclusion she encounters.
The characters are pleasingly well portrayed. Marta is her wealthy white roommate, blissfully ignorant of her own prejudices despite having good intentions. An accurately detailed picture is given to us of Sander, an autistic student who struggles to behave as expected around other students. Theod emerges as a native character with a tragic past, missing his cultural background and identity since he had been stolen from his family when many of them had been executed by the colonial power. Liberty, a black laundry maid, provides some romantic complications for Anequs. And her older brother, Niquiat, is always supportive but must deal with his own need to reconcile with their father.
I have to admit, I definitely found the main story engaging and the developments kept the pages turning. There were also some surprisingly profound comparisons with the ravages of colonialism and racism in real American history, as is the phrase used by the native characters, to 'the great dying'. We see the trauma and loss from conquest and suppression passed down through generations of the native characters. Anequs herself must deal with and speak out against what her people have encountered: dispossession, injustice, racial slurs, slanted history and the greed of the Anglish settlers. Theod's character, in particular, must get past the erasure of his own name and heritage, and relearn who he is.
Not every novel is perfect, and there were a few rough spots. At times, the writing flips from the direct, simple speech of Anequs's community to highly literary 19th century-style dialogue, which takes some getting used to. (Would a 15 year old really talk that way?) There is an interesting magic system (skiltakraft), which is surprisingly quite complex. There are a long array of knotty Scandinavian names in the novel and alternative terms for things, for example History is 'erelore'. At times I thought there were an unnecessary amount of details being given, and some portions of dialogue rambled a bit.
But these are minor concerns! It's so good to read a book this refreshing, and willing to try something new, even adding some steampunk technology into the story's mix. My favourite part of the novel was the community feeling in Anequs's native village and the harmony between the locals on the island. Since I couldn't put this book down, I really hope book 2 in the series is not long in coming.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
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