By: Tara Espinoza
As we grow up, we often have difficulty believing in magic. Who can blame us? We have real adult problems. We don’t have time to get swept up in a dramatic war college with dragons and complicated love. Or do we?
“Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros is a young adult fantasy novel that spent 18 weeks dominating the New York Times bestseller list. However, many people question if the book is overhyped, and I’m here to spill my guts on all things Basgiath.
Readers are hard launched into the main character’s life, Violet Sorrengail, the fragile daughter of the commanding general at Basgiath (a ruthless war college with a dragon program). When her mother mandates that Violet must enroll despite her daughter having spent her entire life training to be a scribe like her father, she is thrown into a whirlwind of people who want to kill her, dragons who want to kill her, mysterious wielders who also want to kill her, and powerful magic. All the while, discovering the written history might not be the whole history.
When Violet meets rebel-born Xaden Riorson (her mother killed his father during the Tyrrish Rebellion), lines start to blur, and emotions run high. With every hour becoming a consistent battle between staying alive and burning friends, balancing school work, and knowing who to trust, Violet falls headfirst into what might turn into the second rebellion.
That is, if she survives.
To all the haters, I have one statement: Shut your mouth. Reading is supposed to be fun. If you are getting secondhand embarrassment, yelling at the characters, or falling in love with a fictional guy, the author is doing their job. Now, I know critics of the novel will say things like “the plot is predictable,” or “it’s poor writing with no overarching message,” or even “it’s just smut.” The harsh and judgmental opinions of this book left me wondering if we read the same book.
For me, reading “Fourth Wing” was the gateway drug to fantasy reading. It gave me permission to enjoy magic and step out of my mundane life while reminding me what it’s like to be in my early 20s and not have the tools to understand the world or the people around me. It is fun and wild with a tone of seriousness; it’s the perfect cocktail after a long day of work.
Revisiting the comment, “it’s poor writing with no overarching message,” let’s talk about how Yarros consistently writes diverse characters without making them a token. From the main characters to the side characters, she gives a backstory and undergoes significant personal growth. How many times has a reader Googled “What is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome” because the main character has it? Yarros shows that having disabilities doesn’t mean you can’t do things; it just means things look different.
Also, I’m going to shout this from the rooftops: One of the underlying messages of this novel is that if history isn’t told or gets “forgotten,” you get a society of blind followers. Do I really need to explain why that’s dangerous? Yarros is pushing us to get comfortable asking uncomfortable questions and testing boundaries. And she does it with sassy dragons and magical abilities, plus a few hotties. (Wink wink.)
It’s time to lace up your boots, grab your leathers and flight goggles, plus a copy of “Fourth Wing,” and fall back into the magic.