The Zarder

Zarder #1

by Sara Jo Easton

For ten years, the dragon-like Onizards who dwelled in the Day Kingdom had been ruled by a tyrant who called herself the Fire Queen. Not even the Queen's son, Delbralfi, was completely safe from her scorn and wrath. For a powerless non-nature like Teltrena or a human slave like Jena, life was spent hoping for a better future while fearing for one's life.

Then, through a series of most unlikely circumstances, Jena found her mind telepathically Bonded to an Onizard hatchling named Senraeno. The only way to survive the Fire Queen's wrath was to fake their deaths and hide in the forgotten Night Kingdom.

With the unexpected help of a few new friends, the Bonds are safe for a while, but their real deaths await them if the Fire Queen discovers that Jena and Senraeno are both alive and Bonded. Now, Jena must learn to fight for herself, and she must help the Onizards see that the love and courage in their hearts is more powerful than the Fire Queen's hatred.

Genres: Fantasy

154 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 26, 2011

About the author

Sara Jo Easton drew the first Onizards when she was bored in math class (in her defense, it was the second day in a row of graphing a plane). Over a decade later, she has attended college for Journalism, has traveled extensively, and has met many fun and interesting people along the way. Times may have changed since she first started writing novels in the 8th grade, but she would still get bored in math class if she had to spend two days in a row graphing planes.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first heard about The Zarder, I had such high hopes for the book. It sounded like a cute, interesting, fun middle grade novel. The premise of Onizards sounded a little bit like a cooler version of dragons, which are one of my favorite creatures. Unfortunately, the book let me down. I got about ninety pages into it, and wasn't able to finish the book. I tried reading it for almost three weeks, and had to eventually give up.

The Zarder was incredibly confusing. All of the names of the characters were so similar. There were a few characters that only had a couple letter defriation in their names. It made it hard to keep track of who was who. The whole concept of Onizards and bonding sounded interesting, in theory. However, the way in which it was delivered through the author's writing, made it really confusing. It was never fully explained a clear, concise way. It made the book a struggle to get through, and was one of the major reasons why I could not finish the book.

I really wanted to like The Zarder. I tried and tried to push myself to finish the book in hopes it would get better. Unfortunately, I never was able to finish the book, and had to give up. It was just putting me in the beginning of a reading slump. The concept of the plot was really interesting, but the way it was delivered left something to be desired.

[Trudi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book indeed. At first I had a hard time following it, due to the names of the Onizards. At times it was hard to remember who was who, but that could have been my own problem, NOT the authors writing skills.

I liked how the story had such an intense past that had been phased out by the ruthless & wicked Fire Queen, Yet the few quiet rebels, both creatures & humans, were able to stay alive doing their duties as slaves & keeping quiet yet putting of a happy facade.

The plot has the combination of secret friendship, souls binding as the impossible is proven wrong, great love found through hero-ship, & the secrets of the past come to life to conquer all evil & save the world.

[Jessica Buike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a magical land where dragons are in charge and humans live to serve, a small band of dragons and the humans they love band together to try to overthrow their evil ruler. The characters are likeable, and I found the story interesting. There was even a twist at the end that I didn't see coming! My only criticism is that even though there was a short list of some of the character's names at the back of the book, it was still very confusing to keep all of the characters straight since many of them had similar names.

[Des · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Read giveaway (and I am glad to have it on my shelf, truly). I think it has potential, but to be honest I understood more of the book from a review on Amazon.com than from actually reading it because nothing was clear to me. It's an example of being too creative and too original, believe it or not.

[Alina Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this on goodreads from first reads I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars I loved the writing and was a sweet story I spent every night reading some to my daughter until the end of the book last night was brilliant for a children's story! We both enjoyed the book very much.

[Melissa Sargent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt totally lost in the story at first. About mid way through, it starts to make sense. It really wasn't the book for me though, I didn't bond with any of the charactors. This review was provided in exchange for a copy of the book through Goodreads and the author.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book a long while ago and have finally read it.

I would have rated it a 5 had the names of the characters not have been so confusing. Some of the names are so similar they are easy to mix up.

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised by the twist the author created.

[T.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My complete review of The Zarder by Sara Jo Easton can be read at: http://themisadventuresofamisplacedal...

[Tracy Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son actually read this book. He is 11 and he enjoyed it.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!