A Review of Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros

Book Content Warning: Character Death

Growing up, I always had a book on me. I was practically born with a library card in hand. I would spend hours in the YA section of my local library, shuffling slowly back and forth between rows, careful not to step too fast and drop the mountain of titles that had inevitably accumulated in my arms. I was a YA fantasy fanatic. I inhaled fast-paced fictional battles and love stories like oxygen, frequently reading several at once and staying up until my vision blurred—the vow of “one more chapter” always morphing into “okay, but maybe one more.”

These days, my reading looks a little different. A couple of pages at a time, snuck between lectures, study hours, laundry, and all the other demands that come with being a member of the real adult world. What I read has changed, too. Most of the time, I’m selective about what I pick up because of how much my book consumption rate has slowed. The YA fantasy novels are now contemporary fiction books about realistic people with realistic worries, fears, and challenges. Recently, I’ve felt a new pressure to read classic or critically acclaimed books, in the sense that being a reader is less about any personal pleasure found through the act of reading, and more about being able to say that you’ve read a certain book. Even if not consciously, I find myself embarrassed by the kind of stories I want to pick up, thinking them not literary enough and thus less meaningful. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was a book I picked up on a whim, almost by accident. Maybe something about the golden gloss of the cover compelled me to grab it off the fantasy shelf at my local bookstore. Maybe it was the fact that it’s set in a “war college for dragon riders,” reminding me a bit of the books I used to read. Either way, it was a deviation from my path of adulting. A deviation that I cannot recommend enough.

Recently, I’ve felt a new pressure to read classic or critically acclaimed books, in the sense that being a reader is less about any personal pleasure found through the act of reading, and more about being able to say that you’ve read a certain book.

Fourth Wing is a high fantasy novel that follows a cadet named Violet Sorrengail as she braves Basgiath War College, where the only goal is to bond with a dragon or die trying. As the daughter of a commanding general, she has an immediate target on her back. She spends 517 fast-paced pages forging friendships, navigating enemies, and flirting with a very hot fellow dragon rider, who, obviously, wants to kill her to get revenge on her mother. My favorite thing about this book, hands down, was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. At a time in my life when everything feels serious, at a school like Berkeley, where sometimes it feels like students are constantly pressure-cooked by stress, it was a breath of fresh air. The setting was limited to the confines of the college, so there wasn’t a lot of heavy or overwhelming worldbuilding, and the tension of the story stayed high because of the constant threat of bodily harm and certain death that hung over the characters. Violet had clear character development that was fun to follow as she challenged herself, using her intellect—she had intended to join the Scribe college until her mother forced her at the last minute to become a Rider—to go from one of the weakest cadets to, spoiler, one of the strongest. The theme of romance is thickly woven throughout the book, with a series of very convenient plot devices tying Violet to the main love interest, Xaden Riorson. It’s revealed that the pair happen to be bonded to mated dragons, who suffer if they are separated for too long. Because of this connection, the two riders can communicate telepathically and will be dependent on each other for the rest of their lives. It’s not quite PG, but is adorable if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief and get swept up in the silliness.

The plot is addicting, and each brush with death pulls you a little deeper into a magical world. A world where both dragons and hot dragon riders are real and can communicate telepathically.

To be clear, I don’t think Fourth Wing is the best-written book in the world. I don’t even really think it’s well-written, and wouldn’t recommend it to people looking for a work of groundbreaking literature. Violet’s inner monologue is interspersed throughout the narrative, occasionally providing commentary such as a description of Xaden as “Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-into-trouble-and-you-like-it level of hot,” which certainly paints a picture, though not a very creative or nuanced one. Some of the plot conveniences also feel a little too convenient, and the plot structure very much falls into the common “chosen one” main character fantasy trap. Violet bonds to the most powerful dragon, has the coolest silver hair, and might be one of the most powerful dragon riders ever. However, I think it’s possible to enjoy a book without being wowed by the writing. The plot is addicting, and each brush with death pulls you a little deeper into a magical world. A world where both dragons and hot dragon riders are real and can communicate telepathically. If you relate at all to my nostalgia for the kind of reading that happened as a kid, back before the pressure for every book we pick up to mean something, read Fourth Wing. You might laugh, you might cry—I definitely did—but I guarantee you’ll be in for a wild, wild ride. 

— Georgia Kerr, Fall 2023 Staff

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REBECCA YARROS is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.

Fourth Wing can be purchased here.