| Menolly is the youngest daughter of Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Sea Hold. He is a hard man who works hard and is very set in his ways. He strongly believes that girls are made to work in the kitchens and doing other chores - not playing music. It was fine for Menolly to experiment with new tunes while Petiron, the Harper was alive. But, now that he has passed on, Yanus no longer wants Menolly to have anything to do with music.
Unfortunately, a new Harper cannot arrive for some time so he lets Menolly teach the younger children while everyone waits. But when the new Harper does arrive, Yanus firmly informs Menolly that he no longer wants her to sing or to play. Menolly rebels, of course, but when she slices her hand while helping cut fish, she feels that she will never play again. She turns to spending time alone and, when she is caught out during threadfall, she takes refuge in a cave where she impresses nine fire lizards. She is quite content living alone, completely unaware that the harper at Half Circle Sea Hold is earnestly looking for the writer of the fabulous new songs that Petiron sent to Harper Hall before he died. Menolly is caught without shelter during a later threadfall and saved by a dragonrider, who takes her to Benden Weyr. There, she meets the Masterharper and finally has the chance to let people know how talented she is. Dragonsong is the first book in the Harper Hall Trilogy, one of Anne McCaffrey's best books. I first read this book when I was in junior high school and have always loved it, reading it time and time again. Anne McCaffrey has a nice, easy writing style that it easy for all to understand and her characters are very engaging. Young adults especially will enjoy coming of age with Menolly and seeing her succeed and come into her own. If you have no previous introduction to McCaffrey's Pern/Dragonrider series, do not worry because she does a great job at putting in just enough information for those who have not read Dragonflight and Dragonquest, but not too much so the readers who are familiar with Pern do not get frustrated reading the same information. If you like reading fantasy, dragons, or music - you will love this book! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - very upbeat FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past Coming of age Yes Youngster becomes - a great scholar/artist Adversaries are… - dragon buddy Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book GIANT monster(s) Yes Family relations Yes Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 0 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40 % Main Character Identity: - Female Profession/status: Age: - a teen If magical mental powers: - can talk to animals Really unusual traits? Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Terrain A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society Planet outside solar system? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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