I go through phases of reading, and right now I’m trying to get back into the swing of it again.

Somewhere, maybe on tiktok, I saw mention of Fourth Wing. A lot of people praised it and I knew it had to do with dragons (which I love), so I was quick to give the sample a try.

I finished the sample in literally no time and am now pretty deep (but not finished, please no spoilers!) into the book. It’s not particularly well written or innovative, sometimes the way the author writes makes me cringe a little, but god damn if I don’t think it’s a fun story. It’s very easy to read and not difficult in any capacity to understand, which is a stark contrast to the other book I’m slowly reading (House of Leaves.)

I’m a 27yr old female, so probably out of the age range for Fourth Wing, and sometimes I feel like I should be reading more “challenging” and mature things. It’s a weird guilt that I’m pretty sure I put on myself and that no one else actually cares about, and I was curious to ask if anyone else struggles with this a little?

  • _Green_Kyanite_@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’m a librarian. Intended audience age and literary tone of writing are NOT indicative of quality writing.

    For example- ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ by Dr. Seuss. (Which is frequently bought as a college graduation gift despite being written for toddlers.)

    Also, you are TOTALLY the intended audience for Fourth Wing. Are you kidding? That book is basically a summary of every single book teenage girls loved from 2008-2015, but with overt sex scenes.

    Is the book great literature? Probably not. But there hasn’t been a book that hits all the same spots as Graceling, Hunger Games, Divergent (which was incredibly popular for a while, despite what the internet tells you,) Eragon and Tamora Pierce’s books in a while. And Yarros did a great job capitalizing on that.

    Was I surprised even once while reading Fourth Wing? No. Not even a little bit. I’m not kidding when I say I knew everything that happened was gonna happen. But I didn’t care because I like the stuff I expected to happen, and it was done well enough to be fun anyway.

    Fourth Wing is basically that stupid pop song that didn’t win any awards but is still playing on the radio 20 years later because it’s fun and people have good memories about it.

    You wouldn’t pay attention to somebody who insisted adults should only listen to classical music, right? Most people would agreed that guy’s an asshole. The people who insist adults shouldn’t read YA & have to stick to quality literature are also assholes. Don’t listen to them.

    • auraleexox@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      This is a great summary of my experience of Fourth Wing as well. I was a teenage girl between 2008-2015 and there was something nostalgic about Fourth Wing that made me feel all those wonderful feelings again. I would love to see a revival of the genre.