Eon, a young woman disguised as a twelve-year-old boy, struggles to make her way through the intrigue-laden Imperial Court, where she must politick with the Dragoneyes and their allies even as she works to master her own inconsistent magical powers.

I found this a remarkably readable book. It was easy to sink into, and Goodman's prose reads up right quick. I whipped right through it, and I enjoyed it a fair bit. That said, I find that I'm having trouble reviewing it, because the things that really jump out at me are the elements that tripped me up and made it tough for me to love it.

But we'll get to those in good time. There were a couple of things I really liked, and I'd prefer to start off with those.

Lady Dela, one of Eon's compatriots, is right at the top of the list. She's physically male, but at no point does Eon refer to her as 'he' or demean her choice to embrace her female nature. She's not universally accepted, and Goodman makes sure we know that she's been persecuted in the past, but she remains true to her inner self. I was, so, so glad to see a trans character in a book marketed at the (North American) YA set, and I was even happier to see Goodman treat her with such honesty. The contrast between her physical sex and her true gender does hint at what Eon herself is going through, but it never becomes the focus of her character. She's a person, first and foremost.

I also liked the mystery surrounding Eon's fleeting grasp on her powers. It is a tad predictable, but I don't feel that the book suffers for it. I was still eager to read on in the hopes that Eon would figure it out sooner rather than later. As a reader, I'm always ridiculously satisfied when a character finally learns something I've known for a couple hundred pages. And even though it was fairly obvious to me, (and to many others, if the reviews are anything to go by), it makes sense that Eon wouldn't clue into it right off the bat.

Eon's world also made for a nice change from your standard medievalesque fantasy setting. I will say, however, that a couple of Goodman's word choices threw me. Lady Dela, for example, is called a Contraire. French, anyone? It stood out like a sore thumb in this Asian-inspired world.

Now: the stuff that didn't quite work for me.

EON has a large cast of characters, and Goodman does a fairly good job of limning each of them; however, I had some problems with the ways they all related to one another. I often felt like Goodman was telling us one thing and showing us another. Eon's relationship with her master was perhaps the most jarring of all. What Goodman told me about their connection was dramatically different from what she showed me.

I sometimes had trouble connecting to the action, too. I'd find myself reading back over particular passages to see what it was I'd just read. I'm still not sure if this was because Goodman didn't delve deep enough for me, or if my dodgy sense of the characters' interconnections made it tough for me to commit to some of the plot stuff.

All in all, though, this was an enjoyable read that I couldn't quite love, hard as I tried. I'd still recommend it to those with an interest in Asian-inspired fantasy, but I'd say that those of you who're more heavily invested in character-based stuff should proceed with some caution.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

This book was a good fantasy read. It was exciting, made you keep turning the pages. It had everything cool in it, such as fencing, magic, an interesting protagonist, a truly good read. The character was different, since she is a crippled girl, instead of a completely healthy guy. The cover art caught my eye, and the summary sounded interesting. AHS/NC

Last word first: (5/5) A strong protagonist, a compelling story, and a setting that will pull you right in.

Description: Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragoneye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and if discovered Eon faces a terrible death. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts: Eon had be hooked almost from the first page. This is a book with well-developed characters, an absorbing storyline and a beautiful setting. Add that to great writing and compelling themes and you've got yourself a winner.

This book reminded me a lot of the Alanna and Keladry books by Tamora Pierce, and I think it will really appeal to fans of those series. Eon is a similar character type. She's a woman seeking, at great personal risk, to succeed in an area dominated by men. She didn't always make great decisions, and I occasionally wanted to yell at her (have you noticed I tend to get REALLY involved with the protagonist when I'm reading?) when she was missing what was right in front of her. But I was still rooting for her to suceed. A sixteen year old girl, pretending to be a twelve year old boy, attempting to survive in a complex political environment for which she could not possibly have been prepared. Can we say underdog? Love it.

The setting deserves it's own paragraph. Goodman has put together a beautifully crafted, Asian-inspired backdrop to her story. Her word pictures bring the temples, gardens and marketplaces to life in a way that made me feel like I was there. There is something so gorgeously foreign (to me, at least) about this world that I was completely sucked in. I admit I have also devoured the details of her research the Alison Goodman has included at her site. In Australia, this book was originally entitled The Two Pearls of Wisdom, and had a very different cover which really conveyed the exotic feel of the setting. It might not be as compelling as the North American cover, but I still like it.

What really gives this book the staying power I think it will have for me are the themes. Eon has to face and accept herself in order to succeed, even though it takes her forever to figure that out. Honesty, bravery, responsibility and acceptance are all explored in a way that makes this a book I want my kids to read when they're old enough. This book will likely appeal mostly to girls and women, but I think guys would enjoy it too.

Though I borrowed this one from the library, I'm definitely planning to pick up a hardcover copy for my personal shelf. This is a story with tons of reread potential, and one I'll want to force my friends to read. Five stars! The only problem is that the ending was a little bit of a cliffhanger, and now I am doomed to remain in suspense until sometime next year when the sequel comes out. ( )

Reviewed by The Story Siren for TeensReadToo.com

This book was spectacular! I really enjoyed reading it, very addicting. The story takes place in a sort of Asian themed world. Although the world itself is purely created by the author, Goodman did mirror some of the past elements of Asian culture and society, which I thought was a wonderful addition to the overall setting. Beautiful descriptions!

The plot, while steady throughout the novel, seemed to fly by the last quarter or so! There was some predictability, and I was frustrated with Eon/a for not figuring it out earlier when it's so blatantly obvious! For a fairly smart boy/girl, she was considerably dense when it came to this aspect!

Despite my frustrations, it did play out nicely within the plot, and while I became increasingly frustrated in this one element of the story I totally missed the obviousness of another! But perhaps that is what Goodman had planned all along.

The characters were all fascinating and well-developed. My favorites had to be Lady Dela, Ryko, and Chart.

Goodman's writing is filled with rich details! I loved the descriptive elements! Did I mention that already!?

Can I just say that I really had no idea what a eunuch was and not come across as ignorant? I actually learned a thing or two while reading EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN.

My only complaint is the ending - total cliffhanger. I need the next book, like now. ( )

I really wanted to like this book. It's got dragons, it's got an alternate Asian world (a la Avatar: The Last Airbender), it's got a female protagonist, it's got...other stuff. But unfortunately, I was continuously frustrated with Eon(a), the main character, the people around her, and especially the ending.

See, here's the thing. Throughout the book Eon(a) is constantly bombarded with people telling her that women are bad, weak, useless creatures show can't do anything but maybe make food and babies. It fits with the time period and the place-- somewhat ancient China, I think-- and it's a pretty typical mindset besides. However. I do not agree with the decision to make Eon(a) actually agree with that mindset and continue to agree with it for the majority of the book. It wasn't until, literally, the very end that she finally even admitted that she was a woman, and only then because she was going to die if she didn't. And still she thinks she's worthless, even though she just kicked a lot of butt! Eon(a) has no self-confidence, and it got really tiring reading about her panicking about, oh, everything every single page.

I feel that for a fantasy book like this to work, the main character has to be strong and be willing to change, and I don't feel that Eon(a) was. It was very disheartening, and though I can understand what Ms. Goodman was trying to do-- showing how a potentially awesome person gets beaten down through the world around her-- I didn't feel like there was a spark of rebellion anywhere in Eon(a)'s character, and I do think that's an important thing to have in any character, let alone one who is constantly beaten down and degraded. It's the willingness to be better than people say you can be that's needed in a book like this.

I'm not sure if I'm entirely putting that the way I want it, but hopefully you get my drift. As for the ending-- it was...meh. Bad guys got off too lightly, good guys were either missing, nearly dead, or blundering around stupidly, and the entire thing was left dangling over a very big, very steep cliff. Obviously it's going to be continued in the second book, but the way the end of book one was left hanging, it seemed more like something was accidentally left off at the printers.

There were some interesting and enjoyable things in Eon (though they tended to be overshadowed by my frustration with Eon(a)). For instance, there's a cute little romance between a eunuch and a transsexual courtier (the only character I DID like) that I wanted more of. The dragon-style fighting was interesting, as was the bits with Eon(a) and the prince that made me think it could blossom into a romance (yay). I liked the idea of the world itself, and the descriptions of it were lovely (if a little long).

But otherwise I spent most of my time reading Eon with a headache and a big load of disappointment, and I don't think I'll be reading the second book. I'm pretty sensitive to injustices, though, in that I have a really hard time reading about them when I know they can't be corrected (I can't even read Dickens!). If you have no such problems, and if you like YA fantasy with a bit of an edge, then you might like Eon: Dragoneye Reborn.

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