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By Alison Goodman
Okay, the publisher's synopsis was so good on this one I have to share it as is:
Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragoneye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages...Additionally, there is a secondary character, Lady Dela, who is transgender (M to F) and is very important to the story... and I've been told, is "freakin' awesome."
My thanks to Bibliovore for the recommendation! Add your review of "Eon: Dragoneye Reborn" in comments!
8 comments:
I just went to look at the book on Amazon because the description here was so tantalizing. I thought it was interesting that the School Library Journal review refers the the main character as "she" and "a strong female protagonist." Now I haven't read the book yet, so obviously I don't know how the character identifies, but I wonder if this was another example of transgender characters getting the short shrift. Seems like transgender people are kind of made invisible, like the Malawi story where the victims were portrayed as a gay couple in the media.
I read a more detailed reviews that discussed some problems with how disability is handled in the book, and it sounded like the main character definitely identifies as female (albeit dressed as a boy).
I've been trying to think of YA novels lately where the protagonist is trans (and preferably the plot is not All About Being Trans) and coming up blank. Secondary characters, occasionally.
This looks like a great book! Thanks for posting and I will definitely share this forward to friends who will benefit!
I wanted to add a recommendation too. It's the book Bloodline: Alliance by L.R. Saul and it deals with issues such as prejudice and injustice in a way that's really a metaphor for our own world. It's an enjoyable read as well with lots of plot twists, but I think the strong message of the need for acceptance of all is the one of the strongest points of the book. I hope you get a chance to check it out!
Happy reading!
I really liked Eon, but there are a lot of descriptions of bowing, clothes, etc that I thought slowed things down too much. I listened to it, so that may be why I felt bogged down. Other than that, I think it's a great start to a series!
The main character does identify as female.
The teens in my library who have read it really liked it too.
Just as a side note, I interviewed Nel Ward of the ALA's Rainbow List committee earlier in the year, and she noted that Eon was unfortunately missed by the committee until after its October 2009 deadline. She added, however, that a sequel is due out this fall, and should be a candidate for a future Rainbow Bibliography.
I liked that while Eona struggles with her lack of femininity, and wonders if she is really male on the inside as Lady Dela is female on the inside, she finally identifies as female if not feminine in the formal and constricted way that her society demands. Since the novel is in first person from Eon/Eona's point of view, there's not much play with pronouns in the narrative as applied to her. (Lady Dela, I noted, is always "she," even in a section near the end where she has to dress and act as a man for her own protection.)
I just finished the book and liked it very much, especially Lady Dela. My review is posted over here: http://fadedhat.blogspot.com/2010/07/book-review-eon-dragoneye-reborn-2008.html.
I love this book! It sucks my into the story so completely, which rarely happens with a book. I also reccomend the sequel, which is called Eona.
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