Mennolly, daughter of a fishing family, dreams of being a musician, a Harper -- but in the strict traditions of her homeland, girls are not allowed to become Harpers. When the situation at home becomes untenable, Mennolly escapes, and runs into a fantastic adventure that may, in fact, take her just where she wants to be.
That summary barely scratches the surface of the story, but I'm trying not to give away too much of the plot. I was impressed at the intricate worldbuilding evident in just this novel. I know that there are scads of books set in the Pern universe, but I didn't feel like I was missing a lot, not having read them. This is an all-around enjoyable read, with great characters, plot, and setting. I'll definitely read the sequel, though I don't know if I will invest time in reading the entire massive series.
(Reviewed from an audiobook borrowed through my library system.)
Dragonsong and Dragonsinger are my favorite books in the series...the others are optional as far as I'm concerned!
ReplyDeleteYay! Hi yourself :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comment, they are the best two in the series. I might also add in the short story "The Littlest Dragonboy" (which you can find in Get Off the Unicorn)since it is sometimes included in high school lit textbooks and brings a lot of younger readers to the series.
I think that Dragonsinger is the perfect book for young adolescent girls. My son and I listened to all three Menolly books when he was in early elementary school and he loved them all, although his favorite was Dragon Drums, which I considered the weakest.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, everyone! I'll be sure to pick up Dragonsinger before Dragonsong fades in my memory. Beth, I agree -- I loved reading it now, but I think it would have ranked as one of my all-time favorites if I had discovered it when I was 12 or 13.
ReplyDelete