Review: Dragon School: First Flight

Dragon School: First Flight by Sarah K.L. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Books with dragons in are one of my biggest weaknesses. If a book involves dragons, I’m much more likely to read them. Thus, it should be no surprise to find out Sarah K.L. Wilson’s Dragon School series caught my attention. Sarah K.L. Wilson is an author to have been on my radar for a while, I keep meaning to pick up one of her books, so finding out she released a book about dragons killed two birds with one stone – I finally picked up a Sarah K.L. Wilson book and I got my hands on my next dragon read.

I’ll be completely honest, though – despite my love of all things dragons, I was a bit tentative about this one. You see, I’m not the biggest lover of short stories. This is one of those series where the story is split into parts, each released short story being a part of something much bigger. When it comes to my fantasy reads, I much prefer one huge book where I can work my way through each part just by turning the page instead of waiting for the next part to be released. Although I’m not crazy about stories told in this way, I was willing to give this one a try as the synopsis really grabbed my attention.

I’m glad I gave this one a chance.

Dragon School: First Flight is a wonderful introduction to the series, one that quickly pulled me into the world and guaranteed I would be back for more. It may be a short story, but so much happens throughout this one. We are introduced to wonderful characters, we get a basic understanding of the world, possibilities are presented, and the future of this series promises many amazing elements. For such a short story, this really does promise us so much for the future and I cannot wait to find out more.

If I had to pick a single element, however, as my favourite, it would be our leading lady. Strong leading ladies are everywhere in young adult fantasy – so much so, I often find myself disappointed by the lack of attention paid to stories told from the male point of view. What sets this apart from all the others, though, is how far from perfect our female lead is. I find female leads in young adult stories often set unrealistic expectations – they are beautiful, funny, charming, intelligent, and so many other things that I find myself rolling my eyes at their perfection. Our leading lady in this story has issues, she has problems to overcome. In fact, she has to deal with the stigma surrounding what many consider to be a disability in Dragon School. It makes for a wonderful change to see a female lead who is far from perfect, yet she overcomes and follows her dreams. It really did make for a wonderful change, and I’m so glad to be given something new in this regard.

Overall, Dragon School: First Flight was a wonderful introduction to the series, one that will leave you jumping straight into Dragon School: Initiate.

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