DragonKeeper Chronicles Day 3

Yesterday I blogged about the third book in the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul. I forgot to say that I think DragonKnight was my favorite of the four I've read so far. On Facebook, I gave it a 3.5 out of 5 while the first two earned 3s. Once again, the tour is all about DragonLight, which I haven't read yet, but I'm getting closer! I actually started it Monday evening. But today I want to talk about the fourth book, DragonFire. Sadly, this was my least favorite (2.5).

As a series develops and the characters age, they should change. And if you start with them as young teens, then progress them to young adults, it seems that they ought to become more mature. Of course they won't be perfect, but moving forward would be good. Because I read the first two books in the series two years ago, and the third book was mostly Bardon's story, I may have forgotten Kale's personality. But in the fourth book, I found her to be petulant and whiny. I didn't much like her, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if she'd had the same attitudes in the first book, I wouldn't have been as willing to keep reading.

DragonFire takes place seven years after the first book. I'd've liked to see a more mature Kale fighting personality battles a little more suited to a 20-year-old than the 13-year-old she was. (Actually, I don't remember the exact ages, but I think I'm close!) Did Mrs. Paul make the choice she did because the series are for young adults and this way, they could identify more closely? I don't know.

I'm hoping to see a more mature Kale close out the series in DragonLight. Check back in a couple weeks and see what I think once I've read the book.

Meanwhile, some of you may recall my excitement last year that four Christian fantasy authors (Sharon Hinck, Wayne Thomas Batson, Chrisopher Hopper, and Bryan Davis) toured the east coast of the USA in July. This year, for an encore, the tour has been doubled to eight authors and is on the west coast in October. I'll let you know more about it as it gets closer, but if you live anywhere from San Diego to Seattle, you'll want to keep this in mind.

Why am I mentioning it here, today? Well, Donita K Paul is one of the four additional authors for this year's tour, called Motiv8. In fact, more than half of the authors are YA authors, so if you have kids that like fantasy, you really need to plan to attend one or more of their booksignings. They put on a good show last year, and this year should be double the fun.