Review by ArtemisiaGrace -- Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco
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ArtemisiaGrace
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- Latest Review: Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco
Review by ArtemisiaGrace -- Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco.]
1 out of 4 stars
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Dragon Born is the first novel in the Dragon Born series, written by Ela Lourenco. Lara was only twelve when she got to experience her first day at Lantis School of Magic, an institution on the planet Azmantuim for fae, shifters, witches, and other kinds of magical folk. As Lara began her studies, she made new friends, became a very talented healer, and learned a dangerous secret that her elders had been keeping from her for a long time. When Lara discovered the truth about herself her life was changed, and so was everyone else’s.
The first thing that I noticed about Dragon Born was that the writing was a bit underwhelming, even for a children's’ book. There were many spelling and grammar mistakes that took away from the story. It seemed like this novel was edited quickly and without care. Not only that, but because of the way the some of the sentences were formed, it left me confused about what was happening in the book, and unsatisfied with the wording. The writing was broken up and didn’t flow together like a well-written story should do. A good book should allow the reader to fall into it, cradling them in the story and allowing them to see what’s happening, rather than forcing the reader to piece it together. I found that there were moments where I had to reread things several times to understand what was going on, and I can only imagine what the recommended age group would have to go through to understand everything.
The second thing that I noticed about this book was the lack of development in all of the book’s aspects. There were so few sentences describing the characters that it made them seem flimsy and cliched. They were more archetypes then actually characters. I got to meet the mean girl, the popular love interest, and, of course, the, seemingly normal yet actually different and powerful main character. The descriptions were lackluster and had no style or flare to them at all. The same holds true for the settings the characters found themselves in. The setting’s descriptions were thrown into the story haphazardly, without any real thought as to what they would communicate to the reader. In fact, one description was so lazy that a room in the school was described as being, “Like something out of a book,” (Page 12). If that isn’t the least helpful description of something ever written, I don’t know what is. Overall, the lack of illustration of both the characters and setting made it hard for me to enjoy the story.
The third thing that I noticed about this book was that it was simply half-done, and I literally mean that the book seemed like it was unfinished. From what I could tell, the plot had no proper climax or resolution. The author was building up the plot for a big event, and then it was like she decided that she no longer wanted to write the story, so she closed it by making a resolution to a subplot the ending. This book was overwhelmingly predictable, but an unfinished story was not something I could have predicted.
The fourth and final aspect of this novel that I observed was that it seemed like a bad Harry Potter fanfiction. All I could picture when reading about this “magical school” was Hogwarts, especially when the students began to be sorted into their different houses. In fact, this story screamed Harry Potter so much that even the prissy mean girl, Jayla, uttered an all too familiar line, “Wait until my father hears of this!” (Page 24). It just seemed like the author wanted to write a book so that she could add it to her resume, but couldn’t actually think of a story to write by herself, so she shamelessly ripped off the most popular book she could think of.
I would give this novel 1 out of 4 stars, because of how little effort was put into creating it. This story seemed more like a rough draft than a finished product. I do think that although this novel had many flaws to it, it still has potential. I think that the entire thing needs to be revisited and rewritten. The book started off with an interesting premise, which is why I decided to read it in the first place, it just generally needs more work to be a quality story, and the author should put in more time and not let the idea go to waste. At this moment, I would not recommend anyone read this story, but if I had to choose an age group that might enjoy this book at a future date after revision, I would say that I would definitely recommend it to 9-15 year olds. Dragon Born is a story that could become an amazing book someday, but needs more work before that day comes.
******
Dragon Born
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1 out of 4 stars
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Dragon Born is the first novel in the Dragon Born series, written by Ela Lourenco. Lara was only twelve when she got to experience her first day at Lantis School of Magic, an institution on the planet Azmantuim for fae, shifters, witches, and other kinds of magical folk. As Lara began her studies, she made new friends, became a very talented healer, and learned a dangerous secret that her elders had been keeping from her for a long time. When Lara discovered the truth about herself her life was changed, and so was everyone else’s.
The first thing that I noticed about Dragon Born was that the writing was a bit underwhelming, even for a children's’ book. There were many spelling and grammar mistakes that took away from the story. It seemed like this novel was edited quickly and without care. Not only that, but because of the way the some of the sentences were formed, it left me confused about what was happening in the book, and unsatisfied with the wording. The writing was broken up and didn’t flow together like a well-written story should do. A good book should allow the reader to fall into it, cradling them in the story and allowing them to see what’s happening, rather than forcing the reader to piece it together. I found that there were moments where I had to reread things several times to understand what was going on, and I can only imagine what the recommended age group would have to go through to understand everything.
The second thing that I noticed about this book was the lack of development in all of the book’s aspects. There were so few sentences describing the characters that it made them seem flimsy and cliched. They were more archetypes then actually characters. I got to meet the mean girl, the popular love interest, and, of course, the, seemingly normal yet actually different and powerful main character. The descriptions were lackluster and had no style or flare to them at all. The same holds true for the settings the characters found themselves in. The setting’s descriptions were thrown into the story haphazardly, without any real thought as to what they would communicate to the reader. In fact, one description was so lazy that a room in the school was described as being, “Like something out of a book,” (Page 12). If that isn’t the least helpful description of something ever written, I don’t know what is. Overall, the lack of illustration of both the characters and setting made it hard for me to enjoy the story.
The third thing that I noticed about this book was that it was simply half-done, and I literally mean that the book seemed like it was unfinished. From what I could tell, the plot had no proper climax or resolution. The author was building up the plot for a big event, and then it was like she decided that she no longer wanted to write the story, so she closed it by making a resolution to a subplot the ending. This book was overwhelmingly predictable, but an unfinished story was not something I could have predicted.
The fourth and final aspect of this novel that I observed was that it seemed like a bad Harry Potter fanfiction. All I could picture when reading about this “magical school” was Hogwarts, especially when the students began to be sorted into their different houses. In fact, this story screamed Harry Potter so much that even the prissy mean girl, Jayla, uttered an all too familiar line, “Wait until my father hears of this!” (Page 24). It just seemed like the author wanted to write a book so that she could add it to her resume, but couldn’t actually think of a story to write by herself, so she shamelessly ripped off the most popular book she could think of.
I would give this novel 1 out of 4 stars, because of how little effort was put into creating it. This story seemed more like a rough draft than a finished product. I do think that although this novel had many flaws to it, it still has potential. I think that the entire thing needs to be revisited and rewritten. The book started off with an interesting premise, which is why I decided to read it in the first place, it just generally needs more work to be a quality story, and the author should put in more time and not let the idea go to waste. At this moment, I would not recommend anyone read this story, but if I had to choose an age group that might enjoy this book at a future date after revision, I would say that I would definitely recommend it to 9-15 year olds. Dragon Born is a story that could become an amazing book someday, but needs more work before that day comes.
******
Dragon Born
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Dragon Born by Ela Lourenco
