By: Allison Goodman
Publisher: Viking Juvenile December 26, 2008
Pages: 536
From: Library
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages... From Goodreads.com
Character: Eon herself was, that just about says it right there. Eona was posing as a guy so that she could become a dragoneye. Anyone could have come up with that, but when I think of that I want to know what sort of conflicts Eona would have with herself, and with Eon. I’d want to know who was inside of the go for the dragon attitude. Not many authors are talented enough to pull that off, but this author did it so wonderfully there were things I wouldn’t have known I wanted if she hadn’t put them in the book. Her characters were master pieces. Each one was just as developed as the next. Even the walk-ons had attitude. I believe that that is the sign of a good author. Ido was a very interesting character, and he was the bad guy! I thought he was so cool, and believable. Throughout the book we figure out what he is all about.
Plot: I loved the culture from China. Of course the Chinese calendar is a major allusion, but there was a lot in here some buried under the story, but still there. It showed through the character’s actions, and it really was a big part of the story. The story flowed well there was some lull. It would have been even better if the suspense had been more developed, but there was plenty to keep me coming back. Once the book got good it was hard to put it down. The last couple of scenes are about as action-packed as they come. I think that these two elements made this book something worthwhile for both genders, all ages. It’s something I could see in the hands of a teenage boy and a twenty-something college woman. My dad might even enjoy it.
Cross-dressing is obviously a big part of this book, except it’s not something usually thought of. When I picked up the book it’s like, yeah, okay this is a girl dressed as a guy, but there’s so much more into that that I hadn’t even thought of. What would it be like for a girl having to deny she is a girl? She wouldn’t be able to get into fashion or cooking or any of the other things that culture considers only for girls. How many guys do you see picking out there outfits and getting into fashion? How many of those guys aren’t gay? That’s what I thought. Culture especially the stricter Chinese culture puts anything like this below guys, only woman can do that it there “job”. One of the major characters that helps Eona is a cross dresser. Her name is Lady Dela, and she is a man, but inside she is a woman. It is her that really brings out these issues and the Eona out of Eon.
Dragoneyes are like powerful monks. They go through combat training similar to karate, and they have a sort of duty to the people and the government. Each dragoneye represents an animal on the Chinese calendar; they have special powers through their dragons. The dragons are actually sort of like physical spirits (I know weird) that have power over life forces. Kind of like Gods and the dragoneyes are able to wield their power. If that doesn’t make sense, read the book.
Characters- 9
Plot- 9
Suspense- 8
POV-9
Theme- 9
Style- 9
Details- 10
Cover- 9
Overall- 9
P.S. there were lots of loose ends for the second book to pick up. I’m very interested to see where the story leads In Eona.
Sequel:
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