Did you know that dragons are telepathically linked with the person they’ve bonded? At least, they are in Rebecca Yarros’s novel Fourth Wing, which my pupils begged me to read. I would love a dragon, if only because I could then have a conversation about my pupils’ favourite book while simultaneously sharing my actual thoughts without having to talk. Want to know how that conversation would go? Read on!
My pupils: “Have you read Fourth Wing?”
Me: “What’s that?”
Them: “It’s our favourite book in the world. It’s got dragons and death and love and everything, and it’s a New Adult Romantasy novel. It’s Violet Sorrengail, a young woman, who, despite being raised as a scribe, is forced to become a dragon rider. She is not strong, but is determined to survive and bond with a dragon – and also with Xaden, a young man so gorgeous that she almost forgives him for wanting to kill her. She bonds not with one, but with two dragons, and both of them listen in to her thoughts, all the time. Whenever they do, it is written in italics to differentiate between a real conversation and the silent ones between Violet and her dragons.
Dragon: Hi there! Turns out you’ve bonded with a dragon, too. Which is useful, since that way you can share your thoughts with me, and still be kind to your pupils.
Me: Oh my, that’s great, thanks for bonding me! You see, I’m not actually planning to read that book. I also don’t actually think it sounds like a good genre.
Dragon: It can be, but this one? Nah, not so much.
Them: “Have you started reading it yet?”
Me: “No, I haven’t, but I will!”
Dragon: You’re such a liar.
Me: No, not really.
Dragon: Of course you’re not going to read it. Your friends didn’t like it either.
Me: Ok, you’re right. But I don’t know how to tell my pupils that.
Them: “Have you started reading it yet?”
Me: “No, I still haven’t. But I will soon, I promise!”
Dragon: Big liar.
Me: I think I will. I always try to read whatever my pupils like, because it shows them I care and I’m interested in their hobbies.
Dragon: You’re just weak. I don’t know why I bonded you in the first place.
Me: “I’ve started reading it!”
Them, with huge smiles on their faces and high voices: “Oh my god, really? What do you think? How far into it are you at the moment? Has Violet crossed the parapet yet? Tell us all!”
Me: “I’m almost at page 100. I’ll get back to you soon!”
Dragon: Liar, again! You’ve read more than that.
Me: I know, I know! I’m just stalling. I thought there was too much going on, it was a dreadfully predictive plot (of course, despite her disability, Violet becomes the most promising cadet they’ve seen in a long time) and the writing style (lots of one-worded paragraphs, nonsensical metaphors, and tiresome repetition) was atrocious, but I was not going to tell them that. Oh, and don’t get me started about those dragon conversations.
Dragon: What’s up with those?
Me: Oh, everyone talks in the same way. The dragon is just as sassy as everyone else and uses the same words, even though it’s ancient and, well, not a horny teenager.
Dragon: What. Are you saying us dragons were not portrayed realistically?
Me: Not to me, you weren’t.
Dragon: Watch out, or I’ll crush you with my foot.
Me: No. Instead, let’s return to the conversation with my pupils.
Them: “And? And? AND?”
Me: “Well, I’ve read a lot. I couldn’t really stop reading because I wanted to find out what would happen next.”
Me: Dragon, before you say something, this is actually true. I didn’t really like the book, but I really did want to know whether the story would end the way I thought it would.
Dragon: Yeah, sure. Part of you loved it, I felt it.
Me: Never.
Them: “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Me: “I do like it a lot, but I didn’t really like the writing style.”
One of them: “Oh, I didn’t really pay attention to that.”
Me: “It’s just a bit simplistic at times.”
Another one of them: “Well, it’s very young adult, of course.”
Me: “Yes, of course, and that’s why I don’t mind too much. I just focused on the story.”
Dragon: This is a blatant lie. Admit it.
Me: Ok, ok. I couldn’t get past that horrible writing style, especially during the countless totally irrelevant references to sex and endless descriptions of Xaden’s flawless face.
Dragon: Bet they’ll ask about their relationship now!
Me: Oh please, no…
Them: “And what did you think of Violet and Xaden?”
Dragon: Ha! They went there, and I love them for that! Good luck with that one, Elke.
Me: Well, thanks for that. Well, I’ll just be honest.
Me: “Oh, those two. Yeah, er, I thought that it was very clear what they looked like. It is obvious they’re both very hot. It says so about three hundred times.”
Them: “Yeah, it’s almost annoying, isn’t it?”
Me: “Well, a bit, at times.”
Dragon: Sure you want to think that?
Dragon: I can’t believe they agree with you there.
Me: Thankfully. I couldn’t stand yet another description of Xaden’s perfect appearance, his muscles rippling beneath his armor, his chiselled jaw and the way his scars, just, make her feel things that, oh god, make her wish she didn’t feel because he’s her enemy and wants her dead but when he smiles at her – her thoughts are, like, “holy fuck”, all the time, really.
Dragon: Urgh, yes, I didn’t like that part either.. Well, at least they don’t ask for any details…
Them: “Have they broken the furniture yet?”
Me: “They what?”
Them: “Ah, we’ll talk to you again tomorrow.”
Me: Oh no. Oh, no no no. How am I going to survive this?
Dragon: Want me to turn them into ashes with my overpowered fiery breath?
Me: No. That’s now how we solve problems here. Let’s just continue reading the book.
Me: “… They’ve broken the furniture.”
Them: “Ha, you’ve read it! What did you think?”
Me: “Well… Well… I’m not so sure I see the need for such long, exaggerated sex scenes.”
Them: “It’s three pages, Elke, three pages!”
Me: “I know!”
Dragon: I can’t believe you kept reading. Your thoughts were all over the place, by the way.
Me: It really is three pages of them having such amazing, mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex that Violet, who’s just realised that she can wield lightning, whenever she orgasms, which she does a lot, because, well, holy fuck, of course, brings whole thunder clouds into existence. And they’re at it so aggressively that they ruin every single piece of furniture they have.
Dragon: They’re almost like dragons. We love to destroy things, too.
Me: I’m not sure I needed to know that.
One of them: “It’s in chapters twenty-five and thirty.”
Me: “Why on earth would you remember that?”
The others: “Haha, you must have loved those sex parts!”
The same one of them: “No, actually. My little sister is reading Fourth Wing and she wants to skip the sex scenes.”
Me: “Good girl. I could have done without them, too.”
Them: “Er, yes. It was a bit much.”
Dragon: A bit much? That’s the understatement of the year!
Me: Rather. Thankfully, now that I’d come to the sex scenes, it meant that I had finished over half of it. I quickly started reading again and was annoyed by the ludicrous last part, which was so convoluted I still don’t know exactly what happened.
Dragon: Yeah, I know. You kept thinking these extremely annoyed thoughts. I wish you were finally able to block off your thoughts.
Me: “I’ve finished it!”
Them: “Hooray! What did you think of the plot twist?”
Me: “I did see it coming, a bit.”
Them: “No, you didn’t! Still, though, wasn’t it amazing?”
Me: “It certainly shows there’ll be a part two.”
Dragon: No, Elke. I don’t want you to read another one of these. I’m a hundred years old, and this is written for very young people. I can’t stand it.
Me: I wish I hadn’t said that. It can only mean one thing: they are probably going to ask that one question that started the whole Fourth Wing conversation in the first place – and yes, there they go:
Them: “Have you started reading it yet?”
Dragon: And so it goes. What did you think of Fourth Wing? Are you into New Adult Romantasy at all? Or do you prefer more realistic novels, with fewer dragons and less sex?
Me: Also, I should add that I did, kind of, have fun reading Fourth Wing. I think they call it a hate read. It showed me just what my pupils are interested in, and I loved our conversations – even though I wasn’t completely honest with them. My thoughts might have come across a bit harsh at times, but maybe that was just the dragon talking.
Dragon: Don’t pin this on me.
Me: I will always support young people reading, and I definitely support my pupils in their love for this book. I’ve just requested the second part at my local library, so hopefully I’ll be able to read the next book soon. I wonder what we’ll talk about then.
Dragon: Also, follow her. If not, I will kill you.
