Library Book: Firelight

I read Firelight in one night. I was at camp and couldn't sleep. And when I was finally tired enough to sleep, I was so close to the end that I decided to finish it.

Firelight tells the story of Jacinda. She is a draki, descended from the dragons. But she is rare even amongst her kind because she is a fire breather.

Jacinda and one of her draki friends break their pride's rule about flying only during the night. Hunters come after them and Jacinda is almost killed, but she is saved by a beautiful boy named Will. Her pride is going to make an example out of her (and heavily punish her at the same time) but her mother takes her and her twin sister out in the middle of the night. Her sister never manifested and her mother's draki is dormant (dead). Her mother takes them to the middle of the desert with the intention of killing Jacinda's draki so the three of them can live safely among the humans. But Jacinda tries to fight back, refusing to let her draki die.

On top of that, she once again finds Will. And in the middle of the scorching desert heat, the beautiful hunter is the only thing keeping her draki alive.

I thought that Firelight was a Romeo and Juliet type of story about forbidden love between two people. Unfortunately, once I got to the end, I stopped enjoying it so much. The book was very obvious that it was setting itself up for a sequel by leaving things in a very unsatisfactory manner. According to Sophie Jordan's website, the second book in the series is due out this fall.

Two of the reviews on Amazon.com really nailed this book. The one written by Tiger Holland brought up how whiny Jacinda is. And that's really true. She whines no matter what happens. As you get to know her, you really start to lose respect for her. She's a rebellious teenager who doesn't put anyone before herself. And that gets really boring to read about.

The second review I read (by GreenBeanTeenQueen) also made some good points: the interesting part of Firelight is the draki pride. But we don't get to see them, because Firelight quickly becomes all about Jacinda "trying" to fit in at school. GreenBeanTeenQueen also mentions how the other characters seem rather flat, which was very true as well. (Her example is Xander, Will's cousin. We're told he's dangerous, but never shown why that is. We have to take Will's word for it).

So overall, Firelight was entertaining to read, as long as you overlook its flaws. And as long as you don't mind waiting for a sequel (or possibly more) before the story gets resolved.