Ember and the Ice Dragons

I went into Ember and the Ice Dragons with so much excitement, maybe too much, and instantly connected with Ember. She's totally my kind of girl, and I absolutely loved her. Feeling uncomfortable around people, always feeling the need to be truthful even when it would be helpful to lie (especially for little things), being frustrated by yourself... Heather Fawcett conveyed these emotions so perfectly. Ember is that typical “let me save everyone from me, even if it makes me miserable” person, which I can relate to. She was strong-willed, smart, and ultimately open to more than she realized.

I found all the characters to be distinct and interesting which is very important to me for a good reading experience. The developing friendships between Ember, Nisha, and Moss felt realistic and critical to the plot. They all mattered to each other and played important roles. I loved the complexity of Gideon's character and felt both kinship and hatred for him at times. I particularly loved that Fawcett didn't try to make us think all the bad guys were good at first. That's almost always super transparent, and the reveal of a seemingly helpful/nice companion being a villain is usually anticlimactic. Instead, we knew who the villains were and the mystery was whether they could be redeemed or what their motives or plans were. Such a breath of fresh air! Overall, it was a great read, and I hope to read more about these characters in the future.

There's so much to learn about the world! A world both like and unlike ours in a Victorian-esque age was right up my alley, and I think it was well executed. Unfortunately, I think I overhyped the book by thinking it was going to be my favorite middle grade book since Harry Potter. It's definitely my favorite world after the wizarding world, and I WANT MORE. However, there were a few places where I think the execution could be improved. I don't necessarily believe it will hinder the reading experience for the target audience though. The inclusion of two deus ex machina moments was also a bit disappointing. Thank goodness for the accidentally enmagicked penguins and lone dragons who show up at precisely the right time.

Firstly, there were times when I felt like a phrase or sentence of exposition was missing. I had to go back and read to see if I missed something. For example, Ember chokes on her tea at one point, then later she dries her sleeve. I wouldn't assume someone who choked on what they were drinking also spilled it all over themselves, and it would've been more clear with an extra phrase (like “Ember choked, spraying tea all down her front.”). Not a huge deal, and I'd rather this than over explaining every detail, but it was common enough for me to feel like it wasn't my fault.

Next, there were contradictory descriptions of fire dragons that I think slipped by during editing. At the start of one chapter, they are described as “subsisting entirely on vegetation”, but in another chapter the available food options for them on tropical islands includes small prey animals. Not a huge deal, but it is confusing when creating a clear description of the fire dragons for the reader. Do they eat animals, or are they herbivores? I think it's possible there is a distinction that a subspecies could be omnivorous, but that goes back to missing information that should have been included for clarity. Perhaps you could make an argument that the fictional source that the excerpts came from is poorly researched/edited itself, but that didn't seem to be the case.

The dragon language is very interesting and something I was so excited to delve into. I love the idea of the dragons using old English language, and it set up some funny moments with Nisha (love her) and strongly yet subtly hinted at things to come for Moss. That subtlety was so good. I'm not sure how the language is innate though (similar to Parseltongue) with Ember being able to speak and understand immediately. The background info presents it as a learned language from coexisting with humans. But if that's true, then Ember shouldn't be able to instantly speak and understand it. She should be more like Nisha.

The characters definitely aren't believable 12-year-olds. They seem more like 17 or 18 in pretty much every character trait and piece of dialogue. I think 12-year-olds won't care when they read this though and will love the idea of the big adventure the kids go on. The believability issues extended beyond that too, but not excessively so. For example, Ember was described as feeling more exhausted than she'd ever felt before after battling the grimlings, but after a fairly short conversation with Aquamarine was ready to fly for hours. Again, not really a big deal, but it didn't make a lot of sense if you looked closely. Then there was the riddle requirement for seeing the king. I loved the idea, but I couldn't understand why one of the kids wouldn't be allowed through, at the very least. One riddle per person... If they only answered 2 wouldn't Ember and one of the others be able to meet with the king while the other waited outside? Maybe they require the whole group to go through or none at all? It didn't make a ton of sense.

The final issue I had was with the portal. I wanted so much more back story and info on that, but that's not really necessary for middle grade. I hope we get another book so we can learn more about it! I didn't understand how the portal opened up directly into the room with the dragons during the conflict on the ship. Maybe I missed something, but I thought the portal opened into the hallway that leads to the dragon room, not the dragon room itself. Also, how were the dragons not chained up anymore? This probably bugged me the most out of everything.

I think it could have been very interesting to see Ember lead her pursuers through the portal and lure them into the dragon room on the other ship. She would have been able to use her newfound control of her fire powers, confidence, and maybe even knowledge of dragon language to get the captive dragons to finally recognize her as one of them and to help her. Then she could lock her pursuers in the dragon room, run back through the portal, and unscrew Montgomery which would trap them on the other side of the world even if they survive their encounter with the dragons.

I highly recommend this story for middle grade readers. I think adults will find some of the things I mentioned a bit frustrating, but if you can see past those you'll be met with an extraordinary cast of complex characters, fantastic friendships, and intelligent dragons. I loved the whole world. I cannot wait to see if we'll get to learn more about why dragons don't like magic and where Moss comes from, in addition to everything else I mentioned. I was definitely quite critical because of how highly anticipated this book was for me, but I don't want that to dissuade anyone from picking up this book. Go read it. It's really good, and I think if there's another book that it will be even better.