Dragonfire author, Deborah Cooke, tries her hand at YA with The Dragon Diaries. Set within the same world, the first book, Flying Blind, introduces us to the youngest Pyr.

Since she was born, everyone knew that Zoe Sorensson was destined to be the next Wyvern of the Pyr, a race of male dragon shifters, with the wyvern being the only female. Zoe keeps waiting for her wyvern powers to come to her…as well as other indications that she is becoming a woman. When she does come into her dragon, it is during a fight defending her best friend. Unfortunately, the fight is on school property and the fact that Zoe shows her dragon to humans is worse than the suspension-worthy fight itself. Expecting harsh punishment, Zoe is surprised when her father sends her to boot camp with the rest of the young Pyr. At first, the guys are happy to finally have a wyvern, but soon tempers flare and Zoe’s first full display of her wyvern powers might be her last.

Dragon shifters are a pretty cool concept, and Cooke’s method of bringing the world of her adult novels to young adult readers is a good one. Unfortunately, Flying Blind is rather uneven in both plot and pacing. Zoe is rather whiny at times, and her problems seem to change every few chapters without her beginning to learn from them until about two-thirds of the way through, which makes the story rather tedious. Also, some plot points are left alone almost long enough for the reader to forget them. It is not until the mages show up that Flying Blind really takes off, and the last third really flies by.

Hopefully with a lot of exposition out of the way, Deborah Cooke’s next Dragon Diaries book, Winging It, will be stronger throughout. Flying Blind does have its fun and exciting moments, but just needs some solidifying to fully keep a younger readership.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (June 7, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451233883
• ASIN: B007SRXAU0

Purchase a print copy of Flying Blind from Amazon
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Books in The Dragon Diaries series:
Flying Blind
Winging It
Blazing the Trail