Dragon's Bait

When fifteen-year-old Alys is accused of witchcraft by a jealous neighbor determined to force her father to sell his land, the villagers of Saint Toby stake her to the mountainside as a sacrifice to the local dragon. Selendrile, a dragon who can assume human form, has no interest in eating maidens, but he does offer to join Alys in a quest for revenge against the villagers, and Atherton, the false priest who condemned her. So begins a partnership that deepens into friendship, as Alys learns that vengeance is not as satisfying as she had hoped...

Located squarely within the now well-established sub-genre of alternative dragon fantasy, this fairly light novel touches on themes such as vengeance, difference, tolerance, and the nature of the show more human soul, with delicacy, while offering the reader adventure and romance as well. Recommended for adolescent readers who enjoy the work of Robin McKinley and/or Patricia Wrede. show less

From the beginning of this very predictable and convenience-packed book, it was too obvious that the dragon, Selendrile, was never going to eat Alys and she was never in any real danger. This meant any mistrust or conflict the author tried so hard to create in Alys with regard to Selendrile came off as contrived and forced.

This contrived feeling was then exacerbated by the fact that the author overexplained everything, giving no credit to the reader for figuring things out on their own. I get that this is a young adult book, but I'd like to think that even as a 12-year-old I could have figured these things out without a tiresome paragraph after every event (or, at times, every thought Alys ever has!) in which Alys then explained why she show more thought what she did or why such-and-such could be assumed or why he might mistrust or she him or how she might show him her mistrust and ughgggghgh. Annoying!

Then, there is the "lesson" that Selendrile is so obviously teaching Alys about revenge... which he does by patronizing and manipulating her.

More unexplained-yet-convenient items include:
- What Selendrile actually is (A shape-shifter? A dragon? A fairy? An elf? A wizard? All of a sudden dragons aren't actually dragons but have always been shape-shifters?? I don't get it.)
- Why Selendrile even cares about Alys or wants to help her (aside from the fact that she's different because she threw a rock at him)
- The random witch (good thing she was clumsily introduced earlier in the story or she couldn't have come back later to cause a problem!)

The only thing that wasn't predictable or convenient about this book was that it had the most abrupt ending to a book that I've ever experienced. show less

A lot of the books I read when I was younger hold up to adult scrutiny, but I'm sad to say that this one doesn't quite make the grade. Velde weaves an intriguing story of green and betrayal, leading to subterfuge and revenge, but her characters are decidedly juvenile and the story lacks true depth. She has an interesting premise here, since the themes around women being falsely accused of witchcraft and their means of coping have infinite possibilities, but Velde limits her audience to teenage girls who are looking for fantasy-tinged tomance and fails to fully explore the possibilities. What does remain a positive in this story are her introduction to dragon lore; there are plenty of books about dragons and their interactions with show more humans, but Velde has barely begun to explore Selendrile's character in the larger scope before the story reaches its conclusion. More than anything I believe that readers will be intrigued by his back story (or lackthereof), his magical abilities, and his slightly inhuman behaviour that makes for such good plot points. Obviously the story was mean to conclude with Alice chooise her way in the world, but I would have liked to see what another 100 pages would have done to the story - either fleshing out the action and intrigue that are already there or to expand the story in a lengthier direction. show less

I quite like Vivian Vande Velde. She writes such great characters - never perfect, never effortlessly intelligent or clever, but so strong even after mistakes.

I've read Dragon's Bait before but couldn't quite recall the details - so when this slim book passed my way, I just had to reread it!

It's not a stereotypical book about damsels in distress and dragons. It's a beautiful book on revenge and mistakes and surprising friendships.

I love Alys as a character. Unfortunately, Velde never really does tell us what goes behind those purple dragon eyes, so I can't say the same for Selendrile.

I do wish it were longer and more fleshed out. Like, we never really know why Selendrile feels like helping Alys out with revenge. Or what he thinks show more about flirting. Or much about the witch or the priest - that sort of thing. But still, a great book.

Three and a half stars. Very good.
If you like Dealing with Dragons or children books and fantasy, you'll probably like this too. show less

Alys is a young girl in a medieval village like any other--until she's abruptly accused of being a witch and staked out on a hillside to appease a dragon. Furious at the betrayal, she makes a deadly deal with the dragon--she'll help him and he'll kill the villagers. Their travels together bring them to a better understanding of each other's prickly natures, but the final reckoning looms...

Kind of...pointless? Girl has reason to want revenge; she dreams about it, but if it weren't for the dragon she'd never do anything about it. He abets her dreams while apparently scorning her. Then things go entirely wrong, he takes his own revenge (far less considered), and...everything works out, in odd ways. And apparently he loves her, or at least wants her around...I'd never have guessed from their interactions. It reads like a moral tale (revenge is less sweet than it appears), and like most moral tales, misses out on...oh, characterization, any point beyond the moral, interest... Not a winner.

{stand alone; fantasy, children's, dragon} (1992)

Alys is accused of being a witch by her neighbours, who've been eyeing her dad's shop for a while. Then she's rescued by a dragon who turns into a handsome young man.

This is a short story, taking place over five days. I had some preconceived notions of which way the story would go but Vande Velde gaily upended those. I'm not sure what the overall message was, in the end - though I admit that my reading was a bit fragmented.

On reflection, I feel that there were some strong points in the ideas behind this story but the execution was fragmented. I think the intention behind the story changed direction a couple of times (I liked the beginning with Alys learning her father's trade in spite of show more the fact that she's a girl but that didn't get more than a paragraph) and Vande Velde does successfully emphasise the alien nature of the dragon's personality. I felt that the ending was a bit sudden/ up in the air.

August 2024
3-3.5 stars show less