SPOIL FREE SUMMARY
After an accident leaves Henry with new abilities, he decides to seek out Eli for answers. Meanwhile, Henrietta gets taken by strangers after sneaking into a cupboard and Uncle Frank and the family get into their own trouble.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Henry doesn't develop much in the book. Although attempts are made to show some emotional growth, ultimately, it failed.
Henrietta still makes dumb mistakes like stealing the key from Henry and going into a cupboard she knew nothing about. Also, for some reason she still thinks she knows best and refuses to acknowledge those past mistakes.
Uncle Frank gets his own story but I didn't feel like I got much insight into his character. A man torn between two worlds was a really interesting idea. Did he ever regret getting married? Did he think he would have found a way back before he settled down? We do see him and his wife argue some, but it's all very surface level.
Darius is the villain in this book but he is basically a puppet of Nimiane. Although we get a paragraph of his backstory, it stands alone. He never really exerts any personality or motivation for his actions and if the paragraph of his history had been omitted, I wouldn't have been looking for it. Darius just doesn't come off as needing any motivation or asking for one. He just seemed like a two dimensional villain.
Caleb is a character that meets Henrietta. He didn't really have much of a personality. I guess he was tough.
Eli is back, the same guy that Henrietta met when she followed him through Grandfather's room. He plays a key part in the story as he guides Henrietta.
PACING
There are three stories going on at once: Henrietta's, Henry's and Uncle Frank's. But the thing is, I never really felt this made things feel any faster. The stories try to compliment each other, but they go together rather awkwardly. And I often forgot what happened in the last story when I moved on to the next. There were only a few cliff hanger moments.
SAME MISTAKES
Henrietta thinks that Henry is keeping a secret from her, so for some reason she decides to go into a cupboard and almost drowns. She does admit to herself that she was stupid. But she doesn't seem to realize this a pattern of behavior. And she never brings it back up again so I never got the idea that she was learning anything.
HUMOR
There were some funny points in the story, like when Henry explains how the sandwich was made and by who. And then his story gets retold and muddled.
Eli makes some funny, if not disturbing comments.
HENRY'S EVIL PARENTS
Remember how Henry's parents were work-a-holics and he wanted them to stay missing? Well it turns out they are alive, and famous now too. Henry sees them on a talk show, telling everyone, through dramatic tears, how great it was to reunite with their son. Henry of course, had not seen them or even heard from them.
I felt it was trying too hard, like, look! Now Henry has nothing tying him to this world. Since his parents are evil. Remember, these are people who made mistakes, but never seemed to have evil intentions, as far as the reader knows. It was over kill.
FAMILY REUNION
Eventually, Henry gets to meet his long lost family. First he meets his mother, then his siblings, then his father. I was completely blown away by his reaction.
I expected shock, uncertainty, happiness; A tentative desire to show affection in a physical way. But instead we get two pages vacant of any real emotion. Henry just notes her appearance and asks about his christening.
The same goes for his father, who I expected he would have the strongest reaction too. Perhaps he would be nervous to meet him and unsure of how to act.
How does a father treat a son? His stepfather was never around. Maybe Henry would have been angry, asking if they ever even looked for him. Did they think about him? I imagined he had so many questions. But the scenes play like he is making a casual acquaintance. He seems a little nervous, but that is all. Not much interest.
TOO MANY CHARACTERS
Darius ends up working for Nimiane. Then there is Magdalena, who is sister to Eli; Monmouth and Fat Frank are both faeries who end up helping Henry; A random police officer ends up with Frank and his family. Zeke is also around for some reason. Henry has sisters that he gets to meet. Ronaldo is married to Nella, who dreams the future.
I didn't care about most of the characters mainly because I felt that they were all two dimensional and Henry didn't have any relationships with them.
RELATIONSHIPS
Henry and Zeke don't have more than a page or two in this book. So there is no development.
Henry notes that he finds Richard annoying. So, no real closeness between them is developed.
Henrietta and Eli are reunited but Eli is cruel to her. And a secret that is revealed later doesn't help.
Monmouth and Fat Frank help Henry, but Fat Frank does it begrudgingly. I am not sure why Monmouth helps. I guess they are all afraid of Nimiane and think that Henry can help defeat her because of whose son he is.
HENRY'S FIRST KILL
While being escorted by Frank and Monmouth, Henry is attacked and ends up using his new abilities to defend himself. He ends up killing some men.
This should be a huge deal to him, but his only reaction is to feel tired. There is no acknowledgment of what he just did nor any mention of the state of the bodies. Even his friends don't think to ask about his state of mind.
MYSTERIES REVEALED-SPOILERS
Many things are learned throughout the book.
Henrietta learns that her grandfather took something that got Fitzfaeren destroyed.
Henry learns that he is a seventh son. Also that he can use his dreams to spy on people as well as see into the past. But those things aren't discussed in detail. Henry never stops and freaks out, wondering why this is happening and what else may happen to him. I just never felt he was awed by anything.
Henrietta learns about Eli and his sister, Magdalena. I found it interesting, but there was no moment where I thought they learned anything crucial. Nothing that made me want her to reunite with Henry. She does learn the truth about Caleb, but by the time she meets Henry again, he is already with his family.
A GALLANT END?-SPOILERS
Eli ends up getting killed in a battle. This is supposed to be how he redeems himself, as the author states is quite plainly. But I kept thinking, that was all of a sudden. He was basically a selfish jerk but then he dies in battle, so that made up for it or something. I just felt shallow. I barely knew him and he was never portrayed with any sympathy.
WARRIORS
Uncle Frank and his family end up in the same world as Henry. Zeke is along too. Now, I understand that Frank is from this world, and probably familiar with it, but Zeke is just a kid. And yet when Henry goes to the battle, he finds Zeke fighting too.
It didn't make any sense. Why would Frank put a child in harms way? It seemed like Wilson just wanted to make Zeke seem useful somehow. The only reason he is there though, is to be Henry's friend. But they don't have much of a relationship.
HENRY'S DECISION
There is a moment when Henry returns to his house and he considers running away. He admits he wants a safe home, and even a nanny. But none of it felt real. Henry can't run. His Uncle and Family have vanished. When his caretaker showed up, they would probably have some questions. The idea of leaving like nothing happened just didn't feel plausible.
I understand the moment was there not so the reader could believe he would really leave, but to see Henry develop. But I didn't believe either. He had far too much invested in staying.
It would have been better to make it easy to leave, have his actual parents show up and show concern for him. Have Frank and everyone be fine, so he didn't feel like he was abandoning him. And yet still choose to stay, maybe even having to make an effort to do so, like sneaking away from his parents. That would have shown how much he had changed.
THE SEVENTH SON
Remember how I said the motivation of Monmouth and Fat Frank confused me? Well, they some how make him out to be a savior, because his father defeated Nimiane before (but not that well, apparently) and so he should be able to do it to.
No one pays any attention to the fact that Henry may have natural talent, but he has no training and is young and inexperienced. How will meeting his dad make him strong? And apparently they thought all of this before Henry killed some men with his magic. Because they risked their lives getting him to his family.
NO TRAINING?
Henry gains his new ability in the beginning of the story, but he never gets any guidance on how to use it. None of the characters serve as a guide to him, not even his own father. And even after meeting his family, Henry runs off to get an object and then comes back. Nothing about this felt like we were building towards an understanding of his skills.
SUDDENLY BOLD
Through most of the book Henry is meek and anxious. So when he suddenly became bold when commanding some guards, it came off as strange. If Wilson has revealed that Henry had been acting, or had suddenly grown angry and reacted, that would have been different. But it starts to feel like Henry has no real personality and simply takes on whatever persona is needed for the moment.
CLIMAX
Henry goes to retrieve missing item that Eli stored in Frank's house, along with Henrietta and Richard. He returns to his family and joins the battle. Darius is defeated.
CONCLUSION
The pacing is rather slow and the characters don't really develop much. At least, not in any way that we get to witness. Henry is just suddenly powerful. Henrietta admits she did something dumb again, but only to herself.
It's not that the story isn't an interesting idea, it's just not executed well. The relationships still feel shallow and events that should be important and emotion filled are short and dull.
I give “Dandelion Fire” two and a half stars
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