Flying Blind (Dragon Diaries) [Paperback]

Zoë Sorensson has more to worry about than the typical teenage girl. She is the Pyr's Wyvern, a lone female dragon shifter with special powers. Problem is Zoë has yet to come into her powers and the Pyr need their Wyvern. Unfortunately her abilities start to arise while trying to protect a friend against a bully and the most important rule is never to expose her kind to humans. Now suspended from school, Zoë is on her way to shifter boot camp with her fellow Pyr friends. Despite this being her first time, Zoë knows something isn't right. Mages are at work weaving their dark magic on the group of young shifters, causing distrust and anger among friends. Zoë must gain confidence in herself in order to become the Wyvern her people need and stop the Mages' plans of exterminating all Pyr before it's too late.

In Flying Blind, we see the world of Deborah Cooke's Dragonfire series through the eyes of a teen age girl who would love to wake up one morning and finally have use for a bra. Yes, Zoë wishes for the usual things a 15 year old girl would love to have. Breasts, the cute older guy to ask her out, not to have to go to gym class, hoping to finally shift into a dragon. Well that last one is unique to Zoë. Along with wanting to fly, breath fire and have the powers to help her kind. Zoë has a lot of pressure on her to become the Wyvern. She complains about her lack of powers but I didn't feel it was necessarily for selfish reasons. She loves what she is and wants to be able to help her Pyr family as only a Wyvern can.

If you think reading about teenagers at book camp is boring, think again. Fighting, dark magic, and jealousy are running ramped through the younger Pyr and Zoë's powers is what's need to stop her kind's extinction. Zoë's loyalty to her shifter family and bravery to face foes who have no issue with killing teenagers, makes her a character that a reader of any age can admire. By her side are the sons of the older Pyr who have their own stories in Deborah's Dragonfire series. The supporting character I most enjoyed was Jared. He's not a Pyr but an untrained mage who refuses to join sides with those who are after the Pyr. He's more than just the rebel he wants everyone to know he is and I'm interested to see how his character develops as the series progresses. There was one problem I had with him regarding his relationship with Zoë. He's older than her and when Zoë was fighting against the mages I didn't feel the age difference but when she would blush at the slightest attention he gave her or talk about listening to his music (he's in a band and rides a motorcycle) over and over again like a girl with a silly crush, the relationship didn't feel right. It didn't feel inappropriate, just rather unexpected. This is only the third YA book I've ever read so this may not be unusual but rather something I'm not use to yet.

Flying Blind started off good and got better as the story went along. At first it almost felt too young for me with all the high school drama but as the story continued and the tone of the book took on a darker feel, I found myself not wanting to put the book down. Zoë actually surprised me with how strong of a lead she was. For someone who is so young, there is a lot to her character and most of it I absolutely loved. This is a YA book but with just the right amount of action, suspense, humor and just a touch of of romance, I think fans of both YA and adult fantasy books will enjoy dragon tale.

Really good book, a real page Turner, I'm twelve and loved this book I even got in trouble sneak reading it when I was supposed to be sleeping
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Aerial dragon battles. A girl with a cool mystical powers. Cute boys on motorbikes. What more could you ask for in a fun and fluffy paranormal book?

Flying Blind took me completely by surprise. The story follows Zoë Sorensson, the only female dragon shapeshifter in existence, who has important duties to assume when she comes to maturity. The problem is, her powers haven't bloomed properly and the few times they begin to appear--in the form of a mesmerizing flame in the pupils of her eyes and a single curved talon--she can't control them. As a result, she's shipped off to dragon "boot camp" where she's huddled with a group of dragon boys she's known all her life, including Nick, the attractive guy whom she may be destined to be with.

The dragon lore is exceptionally well thought-out, with specific behaviors and mythology. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the different dragons, from a green one with silver-tipped scales to a beautiful garnet and gold one to a regal pewter and purple one with silver accents. The dragon battles are also very easy to picture, with muscular physical tussling, claw-slashing, orange-flamed fire-breathing, and tail-whomping--and with none of the typical fast-healing, "easy fix" powers to lessen the stakes.

Zoë is a bright, funny heroine who narrates in a breezy tone that's immensely appealing. She's attempting to gain control of her body while trying to figure out why such a dark cloud seems to hang over her normally good-natured friends, and there's a lot that's thrown at her as she's coming into her role as a member of the Pyr. She makes a lot of mistakes, but she owns up to them and is never afraid to take action when it matters most. I like that every person in the huge cast of secondary characters has a distinct voice and identity, and that things don't always go the way that seasoned YA readers might expect with mysterious strangers or popular girls. The story is fairly complex for a short book, but it's very light-hearted in tone, which is a refreshing change from all those supernatural YA books that aren't well-thought out or that take themselves too seriously. One of the many humorous touches? Zoë, kickass girl dragon, is a vegetarian.

This book is apparently a spinoff of the author's adult PNR series, but it doesn't feel like something that's hastily cobbled together or that is at all lacking in explanation. The author does a terrific job of gradually revealing the rules and history of dragon behavior, as well as in giving enough time (but not too much time) to characters from the other series in a way that doesn't feel tiresome or forced. It's also great to see a book that shows teens with strong, loving relationships with the adults in their lives--but the crises are deftly handled and solved by the younger dragons themselves. I will say there's a lot of information to process, some of the "dark cloud" behaviors drag on for a little too long, and Zoë does occasionally get a little moony over her crush. But all the romance issues are resolved by the end of the book, and there is plenty of time spent on the family and friend relationships, mythology, plot, and personal development to balance the relationship stuff out.

I'd highly recommend Flying Blind to any fan of non-angsty paranormal/fantasy YA, especially to fans of series such as Hex Hall or The Darkest Powers. Zoë does a lot growing up in this zippy, action-packed story--and after having such a fun whirlwind of an adventure in her company, I can't to see where the next story takes her!