Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke (The Dragon Diaries #1)
YA Paranormal Romance
June 7, 2011
Paperback
New American Library

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Just as you are more then you seem to be, so is everyone else.”

Zoe is your average teenage girl, concerned with school and boys but she also has an added stress. She is the first female dragon shifter to be born in centuries, destined to become the Wyvern. But Zoe’s powers aren’t manifesting and since there is no ‘how to’ manual, Zoe isn’t sure what to do. When she accidentally reveals her powers at school in defense of a friend, her parents send her to boot camp in hopes it will provide Zoe with the skills she needs to claim her destiny. When Zoe arrives at boot camp, she and other young dragon shifters are given clues to solve in order to win an impressive prize. These clues lead them to a remote cabin where the six of them begin to realize that something is terribly wrong. Their fathers are missing and unless Zoe can unlock her powers, the Pyr may cease to exist.

Flying Blind is Ms. Cooke’s debut YA series which spins off of her popular adult Dragonfire series. Flying Blind is a wonderful paranormal YA story that deals with the subjects of bullying, first love, and believing in yourself. Smooth conversational writing mixed with an easy to follow storyline does speak to a somewhat younger age group then, I think, intended. Magic and adventure rule the day as Zoe and her friends take their first steps in to adulthood.

The characters are well defined and filled with wonderful three dimensional personalities that were easy to relate to. Each are tested in some form and fashion and it was fascinating to watch them confront their inner fears in order to triumph. The dads are great and I like that they are the main parental focus in here. Too often the dad in a story is pushed to the side and regulated as a footnote. I admit I did have some trouble with Zoe. Her reactions and expectations are very volatile; her age (and immaturity) are well represented and at times I found her attitude to be tiring. Though, the ending does explain much of her attitude and where it grew from in a satisfactory way.

The romances here are sweet and bloom slowly yet plausible for the characters ages. I admit I wanted more advancement and less angst at the end; hopefully Ms. Cooke will explore that more in the sequel.

Ms Cooke does a wonderful job of explaining the Pyr and Wyvern background and blending the past with the present without over whelming us with information. The plot is straight forward, but Ms. Cooke throws us some devious twists and turns to keep the action and mystery at a sustainable engaging level. I felt the smaller sub stories intertwined well with the main plot and resolved themselves in a way that allowed for satisfying resolution yet keeps the door open for the next one in the series––Winging It –which is set to release December 6, 2011. All in all a wonderful beginning to what is sure to be an adventurous series that will appeal to teens and adults alike.

Rating: C+

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