Winging It - Deborah Cooke

Winging It

The Dragon Diaries, Book 2
Deborah Cooke
New American Library

Young Adult/Paranormal
 
Warning: If you haven’t read the first book in this series, FLYING BLIND, this review contains some pretty serious, but unavoidable spoilers. 
 
After spending time at ‘boot camp’ with her fellow dragons (FLYING BLIND) summer seemed pretty anticlimactic for Zoe Sorensson.  As the Wyvern – the only female dragon of her generation – Zoe is still coming into her powers.  It hasn’t been easy, and for some reason, it seems to be stalled.  There’s plenty more she should be able to do, but so far, it’s just not happening.  It’s clear that the Mages are still out to get the Pyr (dragon shape shifters) just like they’ve gone after nearly every other shape shifter population.  Apparently, wiping out a population transfers their power to the Mages.  Zoe figured they’d continue their attack, but everything has been suspiciously quiet. 
 
Until she opens her locker one day to find an invitation to a Halloween party.  First of all, Zoe is not popular, so she’s not used to getting invitations.  Second, the invitation is from Trevor, a known Mage apprentice.  So, third, it’s clearly some kind of trap.  The obvious solution is to ignore it and not go.  Unfortunately, Zoe’s best friend Meagan, has a huge crush on Trevor; and, as a human, Meagan has no clue about the whole Pyr-Mage thing.  To keep her friend safe, and to follow the rules, Zoe is trying desperately to keep Meagan in the dark.  But with the Mages up to something, and her own parents having their own problems, Zoe knows it’s up to her to set things right.

This is a great follow-up to the first installment, expanding Zoe’s world and deepening the conflicts faced by the Pyr.  The stakes are exponentially higher this time around, and Zoe has to work a lot harder to find her path.  The only read downside to this story is that, when friends (I won’t say who) are taken by the Mages, Zoe spends nearly two weeks doing nothing but going about her normal high school life instead of trying to find and/or free the captives.  This makes no sense at all and really distracted me from the story.  I have to say, though, that the final battle more than made up for this.  There’s more to come, and I will definitely be there for it.
 
Rating: 7
December 2011
ISBN# 978-0-451-23489-6 (trade paperback)