Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Synopsis
Outcast. Healer. The girl they shunned may be the kingdom’s best hope. Kanastya has always been an outcast. With her pointed ears and slight build, she stands out as different. Orphaned young and raised by her grandmother on the edge of the swamp. Kanastya lives quietly on the fringes healing wounds, gathering herbs… and guarding a deadly secret. She knows dragon lore, and in the four kingdoms, secrets like hers could mean death. For generations, the Sundered lands have known peace, but now war is brewing. Rogue dragons have returned and are attacking the four kingdoms with relentless fury. The kings of Vorden need dragons, but to raise them quickly requires blood and sacrifice. Kanastya is chosen as one of those sacrifices. Torn from her home and thrust into a brutal selection meant for nobles, she finds herself among strangers who see her as a threat or a tool. As danger mounts and alliances shift, Kanastya must decide whether to remain the outcast they expect—or become something far more powerful than anyone is prepared for.
Is Black Dragon Rising: Dragon Riders of Vorden appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
Parents should know this book contains moderate fantasy violence including dragon attacks and a brutal selection process requiring blood sacrifice. The heroine faces discrimination and is forced into dangerous trials, but there's no sexual content or strong language.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include captivity, death of parent, and violence (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the outcast healer heroine who must prove herself among hostile nobles while hiding dangerous dragon knowledge during a kingdom-threatening war.