Title: Dragon’s Bait
Author: Vivian Vande Velde
Genre: YA Fantasy
Dragon’s Bait carries a sense of humor and twisting of cliche that elevates Vivian Vande Velde’s work above typical YA fantasy fare.
When teenager Alys is falsely accused of witchcraft and receives the sentence of sacrificial lamb for a hungry dragon, she is sure she will die without avenging her ruined reputation. Yet dragons are unpredictable, and this one, named Selendrile, not only decides not to eat her but offers to help her take revenge on those who accused her. Now Alys must figure out how to juggle being a fugitive from her village with seeking revenge and dealing with a dragon whose mood is mercurial at best.
The characters are strongly written, with a great sense of chemistry between Alys and Selendrile in particular. Though the dragon is able to shift into human form, his personality remains alien to both Alys and the reader. Villain Inquisitor Atherton is slightly one-dimensional, yet the strokes used to paint the portrayal of this character are interesting enough to keep him out of cardboard territory.
Some may be disappointed at the briefness of this story; after the gargantuan sizes of the later Harry Potter novels, YA fantasy in general has blown up in size. Not Dragon’s Bait. Then again, this is hardly a bad thing, as there is not an ounce of fat to detract from the reader’s attention.
Final Words
A slim story with vivid characters and sly humor. 4/5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment