Have you ever heard of a draki? A draki is a kind of dragon in this story. Although a Draki is an imaginary creature that only appears in stories, it seemed real under the pen of Ms Sophie Jordan. If beautiful descriptions can make fictional beings come true, the draki may have already become an existing beast.
The author Ms Sophie Jordan is a best-selling author and I think she deserves the prize. Although Firelight is not her winning book, it is still fantastic. I always keep a little notebook in my pocket when reading so I can jot down good sentences whenever I come across them e.g. ‘When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. Leonardo da Vinci. I took out this notebook very frequently while reading because there were so many good sentences. This is only one of them. I have learnt a lot of new vocabulary items from this book.
This story is about a girl called Jacinda. She is not a girl, but a draki in human form. The drakis’ closest secret was that they could transform into a human. Jacinda lived in the pride with her mother and sister. A pride was a place where drakis lived. Jacinda’s father died many years ago when trying to find another pride for the family. He did that because Jacinda was not an ordinary draki. She could breathe fire. She was the first fire-breathing draki in four hundred years. The king of the pride wanted more of them, so he planned to let her marry his son, Cassian.
However, her parents did not approve of the king. They often fought with him to protect Jacinda from her destiny. One morning, Jacinda and her friend, Azure, went out of the boundaries and tried flying. This was forbidden because hunters may find them if they fly under broad daylight, and this was exactly what happened. They were surrounded by hunters. Azure could survive under water due to her talent. But Jacinda couldn’t. She hid inside a cave but a hunter found her. However, he did not turn her out. He just said the beautiful word and was gone. This hunter was called Will.
After Jacinda returned to the pride, her mother packed all their stuff and the whole family fled to the human world. Her mother brought them to a place where she thought was safe enough. Jacinda and her sister entered school and she met Will there. They fell in love but Cassian found Jacinda and took her back to the pride. Her sister went with them. However, her mother did not.
I like this story very much because the author successfully sketched the gorgeous will of Jacinda. It made Jacinda a magnificent character that lit up the whole story. Also, the author outlined the characters well and made their personalities prominent. For instance, Jacinda’s mother was a very determined person because she insisted in leaving the pride even under Jacinda’s great disagreement. It gives me a feeling that I know all the characters. The background is also clear and the best thing is that the context is well organized. All the information was categorized and expressed tidily. It made the story more easy for readers to understand and then to enjoy.
The story starts with ‘When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. ~Leonardo da Vinci. Although it is a good sentence, it made me confused after reading because there is no relationship between the story and this sentence.
In conclusion, despite some shortcomings, I think this book is a classic and I love it very much. I would recommend Firelight to all who come across it and I hope it will last as long as the language itself exists.