Review by New York Times Review
WHAT is it about dragons that fascinates us so? From the medieval tales of St. George and the Dragon to Anne McCaffrey's telepathic dragons of Pern to the alien dragons populating the most recent young adult literature sensation, "Seraphina," we seem to be endlessly drawn to these ancient mythic beasts. But what if dragons were to die out altogether? Therein hinges the drama of two novels for young readers, with the fiery creatures in both being driven almost to extinction. In each story looms one enormous and decrepit winged lizard, barely recognizable as the terror of tales already told. With "The Last Dragonslayer," fans of Jasper Fforde's best-selling "Thursday Next" and "Nursery Crime" series will be delighted that Fforde's talent for world-building, his skewed sense of humor and his searing satire come through full force. This is both Fforde's first book for young readers and the kickoff to a series, the Chronicles of Kazam. Fforde has created quite a setting. Jennifer Strange, a 15-year-old orphan narrator, indentured to an agency of magicians, lives in a world where magic exists but is not respected. Magic, alas, is losing its power, and as its wattage dims, magicians are resigned to increasingly mundane tasks. Their spells serve to rewire houses and deliver parcels via flying carpets. The action takes off when Jennifer discovers she is the Last Dragonslayer of the title, which means, presumably, there must also be a last dragon. Traditionally the Dragonlands are sacred and off limits to all except the Slayer. Once the dragon dies, however, these lands will be up for grabs. As the Ununited Kingdom's royalty, politicians, corporate executives and voracious media entwine and manipulate Jennifer, she tries to tease out the truth from rumor and folklore. Fforde makes much fun of the greedy and powerful, a pleasure he carries over from his adult books. And he presents his characteristic humor in a seemingly throwaway manner. Take, for example, his description of Jennifer's constant companion, the sharp-toothed Quarkbeast: "Despite his placid nature, the beast's ferocious appearance almost guaranteed that no one ever completely shrugged off the possibility that he might try to take a chunk out of them." All the while, Jennifer grows in self-assurance and determination to follow her own path. In Kelly Barnhill's first fantasy novel, "The Mostly True Story of Jack," she surprised the jaded reader of fairy-tale retellings. With "Iron Hearted Violet," she scores again. Here, too, Barnhill inverts common fairy-tale notions: there's a princess who is not beautiful, a dragon more fearful than fearsome and gods who do not tower but are humble in size. The tale's castle, which lives through magic, is the most inventive rendition of architecture since J. K. Rowling conjured Hogwarts; its living, breathing stones conceal the heart of a god. Barnhill introduces her narrator, Cassian, as a "storyteller, practitioner of a revered and respected occupation in my world, with a long and (mostly) glorious history." With Cassian as our guide, we enter a mirrored world of two suns, a seemingly benign kingdom that nonetheless holds dark secrets; it is but one universe within a multiverse. And Princess Violet, the unbeautiful, quickly wins us over with her intelligence, which allows us to forgive her prickly nature. Together with a stable boy, she discovers a spellbound book created to trick its readers into releasing the evil god, Nybbas. The book's magic preys on Violet's insecurities: a true princess is lovely, with flowing hair and delicate features - not the rough-and-tumble, unruly-haired girl with mismatched eyes we know Violet to be. If there is a flaw in the book, it's that the becoming illustrations of Violet do not justify the shame she feels next to the classic princess aesthetic. Yet the narrative pushes us to dig for deeper truths: What would happen if our wishes were granted? Have we ever behaved so abominably to our closest friends that we fear there is no hope of forgiveness? How can we make amends? In both stories, friendship and loyalty are fiercely tested, and the heroines discover their inner strength and character. But what about the dragons? In both books, the general populace has only a vague, misguided notion of the magical beasts rampaging through the countryside. And in both, the "last" dragon is feeble and worn out, yet the heroines require remarkable courage to face them. They must push past their fear despite the threat, and somehow in the dragon lies the key to secrets. The ending of "The Last Dragonslayer" is delicious and satisfying, yet it teases with a promise of a series. At the end of "Iron Hearted Violet," a certain sadness pervades the storyteller's voice as he remains behind. But the poetic quality of the prose brings hope and an almost unshakable compulsion to turn back to the opening lines: "The end of my world began with a story. It also began with a birth." Lisa Von Drasek is the curator of the Children's Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 11, 2012]
Review by Booklist Review
The end of my world began with a story. So says royal bard Cassian as he recounts the passing of the Andulan kingdom, where the evil thirteenth god (who had been imprisoned for 2,000 years) was destroyed by an ugly princess, a stable boy, and the very last dragon. Barnhill has created a traditional fairy tale with wonderful read-aloud potential. The language has a faint Lemony Snicket tang, which works well for this story about the loss of illusions and the acceptance of self. Other than Violet (the unattractive princess), the characters are largely one-dimensional, but this is consistent with the genre, and Barnhill does a fine job of keeping readers' attention with a likable hero and heroine, a well-paced plot, and a daunting villain. Bruno's illustrations are scattered throughout. (The final art was unavailable for review.)--Welch, Cindy Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Barnhill (The Mostly True Story of Jack) creates a splendid fantasy around a story's power to change the world. Princess Violet deeply loves reading and telling tales of all sorts, even ones about beautiful and graceful princesses-which she is not. She is fascinated when a strange book and magical painting discovered in a hidden room of the castle reveal the forbidden story of a banished god, the Nybbas. Left to her own devices, 13-year-old Violet doesn't realize the danger: the book is true, she has become part of its unfinished story, and the big question is whether Violet will be the villain or the heroine. Layered and complex, Barnhill's story brings a modern feel to age-old fairy tale tropes while recognizing that an offhand remark can cause deep and lasting damage. Messages about self-esteem, acceptance, and the power of the heart may feel heavy to seasoned readers, but those same positive themes, the trim chapter lengths, and Barnhill's nimble prose make this a winning choice for before-bedtime readalouds. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9-With her pug nose, mismatched eyes, and untamable hair, Princess Violet is not beautiful, but she is much beloved by her doting parents, friend Demetrius, and the Andulan people. Intelligent, imaginative, and often reckless, she is "a girl of her own ideas," mesmerizing audiences with her storytelling and shirking her studies to explore the castle. When she and Demetrius happen upon a mysterious book in a hidden-away room, they begin to unearth a forbidden tale about the Nybbas, an evil god that tried to take over all the worlds in the multiverse eons ago and was defeated and imprisoned by the other 12 gods. Fascinated, Violet yearns to know more. When tragedy strikes and she is left feeling isolated, she turns to the Nybbas, embracing its insidiously whispered promises of beauty and inadvertently unleashing its power. It will take much self-realization, sacrifice, and stoutheartedness to set things right. Fortunately, Violet is helped by steadfast Demetrius and an ancient dragon-the last of its kind. Filled with themes about the power of story, the book is appropriately narrated by Cassian, the cowardly court storyteller. The action unfolds at a leisurely pace, with complex subplots and mysteries gradually revealed. Violet's realm is richly imagined; mirror-related imagery is effectively employed throughout, encouraging readers to reflect upon the importance of exterior appearances and the many ways that truth can be refracted. Black-and-white sketches depict dramatic moments. This satisfying fantasy combines adventure with food for thought.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Princess Violet and her best friend Demetrius (the stable masters son) discover a hidden room in the castle, decorated in murals hinting at the forbidden story of the thirteenth god. They unwittingly set into motion a series of events that lead to that evil god, called the Nybbas, awakening and attempting to escape captivity. Violet is not an attractive child (though shes pretty cute in the black-and-white anime-like illustrations), and when her father and Demetrius embark on a quest to find the last dragon and her mother goes into early labor, Violet is vulnerable to the Nybbass manipulative whispers about beauty, power, and revenge. Castle storyteller Cassian narrates the tale, slipping between a dispassionate omniscient account and a more personal, emotional commentary on events. Storytelling plays a key role in the book, intriguingly blurring the line between what is real and what is imaginary in Violets world. With the authors willingness to show even her most sympathetic characters governed by the worst in their natures (the Nybbass whispers infect the whole castle with selfishness and vanity), the bonds of love that arise between Violet and the dragon, the friendship between Violet and Demetrius, and the trust between Violet and her subjects become all the more satisfying at the triumphant conclusion. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Although she uses the standard set of ingredients (spunky princess, stable boy, two-dimensional villain, dragon, small helpful magical creatures, etc.), Barnhill's latest never quite lives up to its potential. Violet is not an attractive princess in the least, but that's A-OK with her parents, her people and her best friend, Demetrius the stable boy. Violet's fine with it too, until she and Demetrius stumble across a hidden room in her castle containing a terrifying painting and a malignant book. When Violet mistakenly releases an evil god of hidden legend in an attempt to become beautiful, she must sacrifice everything in order to rectify her mistake. Alas, it takes at least 90 pages to begin to feel any kind of proper sympathy for Violet since a key spell causes her to become unpleasant and obsessive early on. Though a prominent theme is of the power of storytelling, it is unclear what Barnhill is trying to say about it. On the face of it, it appears that she's saying that some stories, even dangerous ones, need to be told. Yet as the tale continues and characters rail against storytelling, the opposite seems to be true, and the lesson--surely unintended--is that all stories are lies and falsehoods. Though infinitely readable from the first page onward, this is one tale that never quite finds its footing. Art not seen. (Fiction. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
