Winging it (Dragon Diaries)

by Deborah Cooke

Zoe Sorensson yearns to come into her powers as the only female dragon shifter. But being part of two worlds is more complicated than she expected. It's bad enough that she's the target of the Mages' plan to eliminate all shifters - she also has to hide her true nature from her best friend Meagan, a human. For her sixteenth birthday, all Zoe wants is one normal day, including a tattoo and a chance to see hot rocker Jared. Instead, the Pyr throw her a birthday party but ban Meagan from attendance, putting Zoe in a tight spot. Things get even worse when Zoe is invited to the popular kids' Halloween party and Meagan's left out. Zoe knows the party is a trap laid by the host, an apprentice Mage. When Meagan gets a last-minute invite, Zoe must save the day - and her best friend - without revealing her fire-breathing secrets -

• ISBN13: 9780749040727
• Publish Date: 30 January 2012 (first published 1 December 2011)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 12 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Allison & Busby
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

3,5 stars

"If the future was going to be different, I was going to have to be the one to change it." (Zoe Sorensson)

I might have found Zoe, the main character of The Dragon Diaries series, difficult to like in Flying Blind, but in Winging It she's likable and easy to relate to. Her maturity and growth is amazing and her levelheadedness that I admired in Flying Blind is more evident in Winging It. However, she's still a believable teenager and is angry, defiant and impulsive at times. There's a good mix of teenager issues and Wyvern issues that Zoe has to deal with in Winging it.

The Dragon Diaries world has expanded. Zoe's got a grip on her Wyvern powers, but there are still limitations and things that she needs to figure out. She also has to stop the Mages from hurting her friends, prevent one of the four shifters from going extinct and ensure that the Mages don't become more power. The Spellsingers who create magic out of music is unique. I'm also excited to see the wildcards and the shifters come together to stop the Mages in Blazing the Trial.

Zoe has to hide her Pyr abilities from her best friend, Meagan and it puts a strain on their friendship. In the beginning, Meagan annoyed me because she couldn't accept that Zoe can't tell her secret. I feel like Zoe is entitled to her secret because by telling Meagan, she's not just risking herself, she's risking the Pyr. She also told Meagan why she couldn't share her secret. However, Meagan redeems herself and I like that she's a combination of nerdy and tough. I appreciate the strong female friendships between Zoe and Meagan and Isabelle (who's charming personality I could not escape). I also appreciate the brotherly relationship that Zoe shares with Garret, Nick and Liam.

Thank goodness the romance is a side plot because otherwise, I would be very annoyed. Jared, Zoe's love interest from Flying Blind, is hot-and-cold and gives Zoe mixed signals. In Winging It, there's Derek who's the silent and reliable type. I prefer Derek over Jared although Derek and Zoe's chemistry is non-existent. However, it seems so obvious who Zoe is going to end up with.

I like the direction that The Dragon Dairies series is taking and I'm excited to see how it all ends in Blazing the Trial.