On Wings of a Dragon

Wings of a Dragon #1

by Cora Taylor

Protected by her dragon companion, a young woman is sent on a dangerous mission to restore the kingdom to its rightful heir.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade, Adventure

251 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Cora Taylor is a famous author. She has written over fourteen books published in many languages including Japanese and Dutch. Her books are sold in many countries and have won lots of awards.

Cora was born on January 14, 1936 in the TB Sanatorium at Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. Her mother had tuberculosis (aka TB) and wasn’t allowed to hold her until she was five months old, when she finally left the sanatorium. Cora grew up on her grandmother's farm in Saskatchewan.

Now Cora is a newlywed. She has 8 children and 17 grandchildren.

Her writing studio in Ontario is filled with Coca Cola memorabilia and she loves to watch the
red Cardinal birds out of her window.

Cora has three homes and travels all over the world,
but she bases herself in Edmonton, Alberta.

from
http://www.corataylor.com/About%20Cor...

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young adult book that I read aloud to my sons. Wings alternates between the stories of two girls: Kour’el weak, injured, imprisoned and Maighdlin who lives in a once vibrant, joyful kingdom. The latter’s grandDa Petaurus used to be King Vassil’s huntsman but now he sits in front of his hut waiting for Maighdlin to bring him his daily bread. The King had been mortally wounded and now the bewitching Queen Mariah rules in his stead. When all the young women from the village are forcefully taken into service at the palace grandDa, joined by a youth betrothed to a different maiden, set off to rescue his granddaughter. This is where the two stories combine. The first part of the book is far too long, with far too little happening; while the ending climaxes without enough development. There is an interesting twist at the end of the book that could have used more explaining. With this in mind it is still worth reading. It does add to the myth of dragons in interesting ways. Kudos to Cora Taylor! It is certainly her best book yet.

Read more on my blog:Book Buzz

bevd.edublogs.org

[Adela Bezemer-Cleverley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unsure throughout most of this book whether I liked it or not, then the ending left me a bit bewildered about the erratic-ness of the story but a lot more certain of my feelings towards it: not great.

There were some questionable grammatical things in the writing as well of this weird habit of leaving out commas in long sentences where they definitely should have been. But those were just hiccups in the writing, there were other things that led me to this two star rating. Some of the narrative is nicely written and the dialogue isn't terrible, but it's hard to put my finger on exactly what part of the writing I didn't like. I think in general it just seems a little untrained or unpracticed, like this is the first book of a writer who might have some potential later on.

The story started off with a fairytale-esque quality that I think would have served it well if it had continued that way, but as it went on the complete lack of exposition and purposefully leaving the reader in the dark became a bit tedious, because there was nothing interesting to replace the information we are not given, if that makes any sense. I usually like when authors don't tell you all of the information, but in this case it made things a bit confusing and the story seemed to drag on a bit, because you know the answers will be revealed at some point and the longer they are held back the less curious you are about them. If that makes any sense. I think the story was just a bit ragtag and not necessarily tied together very well, but at the same time the plot itself was almost too straight-forward with too easy of a conclusion.

I know I seem to be contradicting myself but it makes sense in my head... The main thoughts I am left with are that while I don't think this book is good, I didn't hate it passionately enough to write a scathing review, because I feel like the author was trying her best... That's it, I guess I feel bad for not liking the book, which is silly. I just think reading it was kind of a waste of my time.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this gem at a Little Free Library. It is a YA Fantasy. The classic tale of the struggle of good against evil, an intriguing story, with a happy ending involving a surprising twist I didn’t see coming. If you like stories of dragons and feisty characters in a fairytale setting, this novel should keep you going.

[Jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read manyyears ago......

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book holds a special place in my heart (despite my 3-star rating). It was a nominee for the Red Maple Award back in 2004. That year, my school's Silver Birch/Red Maple club won the draw to attend the awards ceremony. This was the book I and most of my friends voted for, and I purchased it and had it signed by the author at the ceremony (though, sadly, it didn't win).

I absolutely loved this book at the time. It was a wonderful and mysterious adventure, and a unique experience for me, with the two converging viewpoints/stories that at first seemed unconnected - something I hadn't seen done before.

Unfortunately this second read, 16 years later, it didn't hold up as well. It was still an enjoyable read, but if I didn't have those memories associated with this book, I would probably be considering tossing it in the "donate" pile. The world-building and characters were interesting, but I just couldn't get into it the way I could as a 13-year-old. There were also quite a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, which seemed to increase in frequency as the book went on, and which consistently pulled me out of the story. Despite the problems though, I did like it enough to read the sequel (which I only just discovered!) and still think it's a solid book for young kids with a love for fantasy (and hopefully more recent printings - if there are any - have fixed some of those spelling mistakes).

[Dania]

My review written when I was 11:
"I would have to say it wasn’t what I was expecting…to start off, I really only chose this book in the start, because I knew it was a fantasy book and I, love fantasy. Don’t get me wrong though, it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t amazing either. Out of 5, I’d probably give it a 3. I really loved the ending, though! Really creative! I think it was worth reading, for its whole plot in general. Though, I think some of the parts of the book could have been written better, such as when we find out the Queen is the old lady…

I’m not sure if I would recommend it, but I would say, ‘give it a chance’. It’ll probably be really amazing for some people."

[Bonnie Ferrante · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the Wings of a Dragon by Cora Taylor. An intriguing beginning and an interesting premise. However, the scenes in the cell go on far too long and taking over the castle is deficient. There are several important things that are not explained and the reader is left with too many whys? It felt as though the author tired of the story half-way through and rushed the rest. This book should have been twice as long.

[Zeal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 8th grade with my wonderful friend. We used to sneak this book out (because we weren't allowed to take books out of our classrooms for some strange reason) to lunch and read it behind a portable.

I still remember how much I loved this story. Unfortunately, while most of the plot is in my head, I've forgotten the details. I'm planning on rereading, but I know it's gonna be wonderful.

I'd recommend this book to people any day. It's a wonderful story.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have to agree with another reviewer's frustration with the writing - POV was difficult to ascertain at times and in certain places was completely off! The ending was also terribly anticlimactic and not worth the wait. This book still gets 3 stars, however, because despite its flaws it was an entertaining read and although the end wasn't worth the suspense, I did feel compelled to read to the end and at times had trouble putting the book down.

[Zaynab Jaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

so i've read this book a few times over the past 4 years. I totally loved it! the thing was, everytime i returned it to my school library, i'd forget the name. but i would want to reread the book so badly that i'd look through our library close to where i would remember finding it untill eventually, i would spy it, and sign it out. Anyways, totally loved this book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great story, I read this book back when it very first came out I would stalk out school library till it came in and then I read it within a week to do a book report! I just found a really mint copy in a second hand book store now that I've re-read it the story is just as adventures as I remember :-) a must read for any YA fan :-)

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed it, though I did have struggles consistently throughout the story with grounding time and characters in the midst of the action. It was often difficult to tell which things were occurring when, and how they were occuring, and who was doing them. abut, it was an intriguing story nonetheless and, like I said, I quite enjoyed it, for the most part.

[Aelvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's rather irritating from a technical perspective, since the grammar is often odd or wrong. The story has fairly stock bad guys, but the two sets of protagonists are interesting enough to make up for that. Though the setting is weak and stereotypical, the tension picks up rapidly and creates an engaging read. Recommended.

[Asenath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been much better if the author have developed the characters more. Kour'el wakes up in a prison and deosn't know how she got there. Maighdlin and all the other girls are sent to the palace as slaves. And who is Api'Naga? ;)

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites from growing up! There are very strong female characters, an engaging plot and plenty of amazing scenes. This book has one of the very few scenes that made me cry with sorrow and joy for the strength of the human spirit. In front of people. Seriously.

[Michael Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice read and at an appropriate level for middle grade and early YA. The winged girl and the dragon and their features are novel, as our their personalities. Ending is surprising. I have read this story several times and always enjoy it.

[serprex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two unrelated stories, runs into the classic split-plot problem of one leaving the reader wondering "when will this boring plot pause again & get back to the better one", & then they mash the plots together in the last page & a half

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

has very good story line and is very detailed. It follows mor than one charecter at a time but is a pretty easy read.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parellel stories of Kour'el, who wakes in pain and with no memory, and the village girl Maighdlin, who is swept away from home with all the other maidens to serve the queen. I, too, want wings.

[Onelovestorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a child and remember it as an interesting read.

[Kylea Clayton-Garrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot was unique and I loved the ideas behind Korals P.O.V.