On the Shelf: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

By Courtney Warren

“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy, a rider without its dragon is dead. Welcome to the Fourth Wing.” 

I’m ending the summer On the Shelf list with probably the biggest hit this summer. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros had a print run at the beginning of summer, and I passed by the book in the bookstore several times. The cover wasn’t anything special and truly just didn’t cause me to pick it up. However, after seeing it all over social media as the best book people have ever read, I became intrigued. 

This book gained popularity so quickly that it sold out everywhere. I called all over the state, from big box stores to all of the independent bookstores I knew, and not a single one had a copy of this story. 

What was so special about it? I finally caved and downloaded it to my Kindle; and, I must say, thank goodness for technology. I absolutely loved this story. 

The blurb from the publisher reads, “Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

“But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to ‘fragile’ humans. They incinerate them.
“With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. 
“She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
“Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
“Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.”
 

Now, I know what you’re saying: “Courtney. Another fantasy? Doesn’t this seem a little childish?” Well, sir, I teach the classics every day of my life. When I read, it’s to escape. And, if I’m escaping, it might as well be on a dragon. 
 

This story was incredible. The dragons were done in a way that I’ve never read before, and not a single aspect of the story was expected. This story fulfilled my Harry Potter childhood expectations in all the right ways. The second book comes out this fall, so you’ll be seeing the sequel very soon. I truly can’t recommend this one enough.