#49. Fourth Wing

Tastes like literary dragon flavored candy

Hiyeee! This week’s dispatch comes to you at 10:00pm this past Monday night, curled up in a dark corner of my living room with bleary eyes that have been staring at a computer screen for over 14 hours straight. I’m right in the middle of my busiest few weeks of the year, and my brain feels a little like scrambled eggs, to be honest! ***Please forgive any typos that may be included in this email; I didn’t really have time to actually edit it :)

If you have a friend who works in retail (either online or in-person), cut them some slack in the lead-up to Black Friday if they’re slow to text back or cancel plans without a lot of notice… this is our Super Bowl, and I feel like I’m just barely holding it together, lol. Not to mention I’m getting married in a month and there’s lots of little last-minute things happening right now, like seating charts, day-of timelines, and RSVPs! I’m fine, it’s fine!

I was rating our latest book club pick (the extremely appropriately titled debut Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess) in Goodreads a few days ago when I noticed it–my 2023 reading goal tracker bar, hovering at almost exactly the halfway line. Almost a year ago, I set a goal that I wanted to read 25 books in 2023, and I just finished my 13th. I’m planning to read a lot in December so I’m sure I’ll end up around 15-16 total, but I’m still not going to make my goal. Not that it matters–I have a lot of other work goals I’m sprinting towards at the moment, and this reading goal isn’t something that’s even remotely on my stress radar–but it’s slightly disappointing nonetheless.

Outside of my book club picks–which have given me a guaranteed book I have to read with an actual deadline every other month–I’ve been having a hard time reading this year. Again. I could blame it on being busy, and I do, but I’m also not prioritizing reading the way I have in the past. If I really wanted to make more time for it, I would, but it would mean spending less time watching all the trashy reality TV shows that I love or spending time with my favorite people, both of which I don’t want to give up. I’ve also tried to read quite a few books this year that haven’t been able to cut through all the noise in my brain and actually capture my full attention, and I’ve had a “DNF” pile underneath my bed for months where at least three half-finished books have been discarded among the dust bunnies.

Enter Fourth Wing.

My mom sent me a copy of war-college-with-dragons fantasy novel Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros for my birthday back in July, but I had kind of forgotten about it momentarily until my friend Lindsey mentioned in September that she had just read a book that was impossible to put down. I was like, “Oh hey, I have that! My mom sent it to me!” and proceeded to read all 512 pages in three days.

Since then, I’ve found myself in a seven-person group text (really just a sub-group of my book club) called “Fourth Wing 🐉” where we talk about… Fourth Wing. And other fun book related stuff, but also mostly Fourth Wing. The book is the first in what is going to be a series of five, and we’ve been trading conspiracy theories back and forth for weeks about what’s going to happen in the sequel, Iron Flame, which was just released yesterday (I am *convinced* a certain presumed-dead character is actually alive). It is so much fun to freak out together about a low stakes shared experience set in a fictional world that exists outside all the stress and craziness of real life. I’m loving every single second of it.

By the time you read this it will be Wednesday morning (or later), which means that Iron Flame is officially out in the world. So if you haven’t read Fourth Wing yet, you can devour it pretty quickly and then immediately follow it up with the sequel, which my dragon-obsessed friends and I are all reading now. (Or like, I will be, the minute the clock strikes the weekend).

I’ve been describing Fourth Wing to people as dragon flavored candy injected straight into my veins. Pretty much any fantasy series that takes place at a school is going to be a yes for me, and I think Rebecca Yarros has a particular flair for a fast-paced plot, even if this is her first fantasy novel and she’s missing a bit of the sophistication present in other fantasy series I love. The lack of more serious/complex world-building didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, to be honest! You just have to understand what you’re reading. The plot may have dragons, but this book is way more The Bachelor than Game of Thrones–two of my favorite TV shows for very different reasons. You know??

Rebecca Yarros by Joanna Kulesza for The New York Times. Obsessed with her pink hair

Anyway, the piece you want to read about Fourth Wing and Rebecca Yarros is “How Rebecca Yarros Packed Dragons, Magic, and Steamy Sex Into a Blockbuster Fantasy” by Alexandra Alter for The New York Times. I used a gift link so you can get past the paywall; it’s worth a read. One thing I loved so much about Fourth Wing was how naturally Rebecca worked inclusivity and diversity into her characters–it never feels forced–I think partially because Yarros based some of her main character’s issues with being physically weaker than her peers on her own chronic illness. Violet Sorrengail’s determination to constantly surpass people’s expectations of her is one of the best parts of the book.

Well, enjoy Fourth Wing, if you want to read the biggest book of 2023 that wasn’t a memoir written by one of the most famous women on the planet. If you’ve read it already, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. For some reason Fourth Wing seems to be a very polarizing book–really kind of a love it or hate it situation–but it was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it.

And with that, I’m channeling Fourth Wing to get through the rest of Black Friday prep alive, specifically:

“But I will not run. I wouldn't be standing here if I'd quit every time something seemed impossible to overcome. I will not die today.” –Violet Sorrengail

K bye,
Kelly