McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsinger. Aladdin, 2016.
PERSONAL RESPONSE:
This is the second installment in Menolly’s journey to adulthood, and self discovery. A personal favorite, I love this series for all of it’s imaginative world building yet still focusing on the everyday struggles of growing up. Rereading these books is like a cup of tomato soup on a rainy day, sitting in your favorite chair with nowhere else to be. I appreciate the chance to revisit this world in the name of furthering my education.
SUMMARY:
When we left Menolly she had been scooped up by the Masterharper and placed at Harper Hall to learn her craft. This second book spans a sevenday period of the time following her arrival. With her Menolly brought two Firelizard eggs for the Masterharper and his journeyman, Sebell, to hatch and Impress. Menolly is tested thouroughly and somewhat begrudgingly by old men who don’t feel it is a girl’s place to presume to be a Harper. Her success does nothing but irritate them further, and she manages to make enemies of the girls who are paying students that she must room with. Through her own modest nature and her unsullied joy in music Menolly wins people to her as friends. Envy drives the other girls to be spiteful and hateful to Menolly and her fair of Firelizards, as well as Menolly’s newfound friends. This comes to a head during a Gather, a street festival, and the ringleader of the girls is sent back home in disgrace for bearing flase witness against Menolly.
At the end of the Gather its requested that Menolly perform one of the very popular tunes she composed before she was found, The Fire Lizards Queen. Playing and singing on stage with Robinton she finally finds her self-confidence in her talent and in her self.
The book ends with her being promoted to Journeyman status at the end of the seven days shes been at the Crafthall.
CONNECTIONS:
This installment addresses some themes of peer bullying, self-confidence issues, and loyalty. Strong friendships, platonic!, are brought to light and celebrated. This last issue is one dear to my heart, I think there are far too many YA novels that have a “love story” as their main plot driving force, the target audience of these books should be learning that strong mutual friendships are important, oftentimes more so than romantic attachments.
If I were to use this book, or the series, in a teaching environment I would emphasize the self-doubt and inner struggles that the protagonist faces. I would also be very interested in the prose scattered throughout the book in the form of lyrics to Menolly’s compositions.
When looking at this with a theoretical perspective I might emphasize the Queer theory, not because there are any explicitly romantic attachments of any sort, but because Menolly finds herself so much other from the people she grew up with. So different to the point that she was ready to die rather than stay there any longer, until she found her true place among others who prize music and learning as highly as she does.
Confessions of a Book Addict 