Book Chat: ‘Fourth Wing’ By Rebecca Yarros
Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and she adores all things chocolate, coffee and paleo. She has adored reading all her life, and writing naturally evolved from her love of late nights and promises of one more page.
She is also a military wife of almost 20 years. During her husband’s deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, she was devouring a book a day, and during his third deployment, she finally wrote her own. Together they have six kids. If she’s not writing or playing guitar, she’s usually tying hockey skates for her four boys, or sneaking a John Hughes marathon with her two daughters.
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general — also known as her tough-as-talons mother — has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Characters
Violet Sorrengail - A dragon rider, who is bonded to both Tairn and Andarna. In the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College, she is in the Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing. Violet was born into a family with a rider mother and scribe father as well as two older siblings - Brennan and Mira. Due to a fever, her mother contracted while pregnant, Violet was born with a more fragile body than normal, causing the ends of her hair to turn silver-grey and her ligaments and joints to subluxate frequently.
Mira Sorrengail - A dragon rider and the daughter of Lilith Sorrengail and sister of both Brennan and Violet Sorrengail.
Brennan Sorrengail - dead brother of Violet and Mira Sorrengail. Favourite child of Lilith.
Lilith Sorrengail - General, dragon rider, and mother of Violet Sorrengail.
Dain Aetos - A second-year rider and squad leader. He is Violet Sorrengail's childhood friend since they grew up together, and has the power to read someone's recent memories. He believes that the rules are important and often prioritizes them over a friend's life.
Xaden Riorson - a third-year rider and wingleader of the Fourth Wing. He is bonded to the dragon Sgaeyl. As the child of a rebellion leader, Fen Riorson, he was marked by General Melgren's dragon, as were all children of rebellion leaders, and has a rebellion relic that goes from his wrist up to his neck.
Jack Barlowe - a first-year rider at Basgiath War College. He felt no remorse tossing other cadets off the parapet into their death and tried on multiple occasions to kill Violet Sorrengail.
Rhiannon Matthias - a first-year rider and Violet Sorrengail's best friend. In the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College, she is in the Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing.
Imogen - a second-year rider at Basgiath War College and child of a rebellion leader.
Garrick Tavis - a dragon rider and a section leader in the fourth wing.
Professor Carr - a teacher at Basgiath War College. - Fandom Wiki
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Quotes
“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead.”
“Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it toward the possibilities instead of keeping it where it belongs—on the probabilities.” - Xaden
“The right way isn’t the only way.”
“And strength of courage is more important than physical strength.”
THEMES
Courage as Strength
Ethics of Rules vs. Morality
Survival of the “Strong”
Fourth Wing book Chat Part 1
Fourth Wing Book Chat Part 2
Talking Points
Liam has been ‘assigned’ to Violet to watch over since the assassination attempt
Xaden has warded her rooms
WHY IS THIS OK, BUT DAIN’S POSSESSIVENESS ISNT
On a trip to the scribes she asks for that copy of her ‘fairy tale’ book that she didn’t get to bring with her… but there’s no copy. No one’s even heard of it
A scroll falls out of the cart and there’s been an attack on the borders that’s not classified… but it’s also not mentioned in class
NEFARIOUS THINGS AFOOT
Sparring and Jack is being a dick.
Xaden working out shirtless puts everyone in a tizzy IN LUST CITY
That night Tairn and Sgaeyl get it on, dragons can be horny too
Violet doesn’t know how to ‘shield’, gets randy af
Runs into Xaden outside smoking to calm it, he teaches violet to shield, she’s a natural
They end up kissing, helloooooo
DOESN’T MAKE SENSE THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE, DOES IT, PULLS BACK ANYWAY
Dain is mad that she didn’t get her memories
Jack challenges Violet, uses killing blows. She uses oranges to incapacitate
Xaden makes Vi daggers that suit her so she can fight better
Violet’s mum arrives, in work mode. Xaden realizes she hasn’t shared andarna’s powers with her
Trial to find the most useful item for the enemy, steal mums map
On site and reunited with Mira. Sneak off with Mira to see Rhiannons family
Turns out Xaden’s dragon can’t stay apart for more than 3 days
Xaden can speak directly in Violet’s mind
Xaden has harness/saddle made for Tairon so Violet doesn’t fall off
Next test: capture the crystal egg. Jack stabs Liam, who falls. Andarna’s powers stop him from dying, she summons lightning to kill him
TALK ABOUT HER POWER - DOES IT SUIT? HER RESPONSE TO IT
Xaden checks in on her after learning of her power, they end up going for it. Explosive, literally.
WE LEARN MORE ABOUT XADEN/SCARS/RESPONSIBILITY
Professor Car talking about her being a weapon with Xaden
They find her fathers book, with a hidden note in it thats cryptic
WAS THIS OBVIOUS?
Xaden tries to initiate again, but after the whole ‘do not fall for me’ hanging over her, she rejects him until he confesses his feelings.
THIS WAS BADASS.
A month passes, a lot of pent up frustration. She finds Xaden and needs to walk the parapet. Ugh. The whole thing.
She ends up confessing she loves him and even though he doesn’t say it back, they have round 2.
Interrupted to continue war games
A ROMANCE TROPE I FIND DANGEROUS - HIM LITERALLY WARNING HER ABOUT HIM AND HER SAYING?: I KNOW HE WON’T HURT ME. NO GIRL, LISTEN TO WHAT HE’S SAYING.
Xaden requests her for his group and overrides Dain, who learns they’re together
WHEN AND HOW XADEN USES HER NICKNAME - VIOLENCE - ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
She learns about Xaden’s ‘betrayal’ of working with Gryphon riders etc
She learns the truth, and that her dragons even knew when she didn’t
Does Dain know about the Venin then? OR is he following blindly
WHAT POWERS DO THE VENIN HAVE? TELEPORTATION, MIND READING? POISONING? SEEING FUTURE? THE DARK SIDE OF THE COLLEGE, VENIN IS A STUDENT TOO.
The truth about the REbellion relics - visions get blocked when 3 or more congregate, what does this mean for their mission?
WHAT ARE THE OTHER SECRETS XADEN IS KEEPING??
FINAL CHAPTER FROM XADEN’S POV
WE LEARN BRENNON IS ALIVE
Challenges in fourth wing
Challenge 1: The Parapet
While climbing the stairs to the parapet Violet meets Rhiannon Matthias and offers to switch left boots so they’d both have at least one boot with good grip. At the top of the turret, she meets Xaden Riorson but he doesn’t try to kill her. While crossing, a boy behind her, Jack Barlowe, chases her to try to push her off. She finishes crossing before he can get to her, but Jack still wants to kill her.
Questions:
What do we think of the Academy?
Which students stand out
Do you have any interest in the classes or teachers?
Once she’s on campus, she finds Dain who tries to convince her to switch to the Scribes Quadrant but she refuses so instead he puts her into his squad so he can protect her, but his squad ends up being under Xaden’s Wing, so Xaden would have direct access to her and could punish her for any minor rule infraction however he saw fit.
Before her first class, Dain tells Violet that his signet is the ability to read people’s recent memories. During her first class, she stands out because she asks the correct strategic questions that no one else in her year thought of.
Questions:
What do we think about Dain? What are his motives/intent, but why is it not good at all
What do we think about Signets? Which is the best? Worst?
Challenge 2: Sparring
During the gym assessment, Violet spars with Imogen, a second-year rider, who tries to kill her but is unsuccessful because of Violet’s dragon scale corset. That night she agrees to help Rhiannon study history and in return, Rhiannon will help her train.
While sneaking out after curfew to collect poisonous berries, Violet hears Xaden and all the first-year marked kids gathering. It is illegal for more than 3 marked kids to gather. Xaden catches her after the others leave and Violet decides not to report them because Xaden was just helping them get tutoring in areas that they were struggling in.
Violet wins a string of challenge matches by poisoning her opponents but on her fifth challenge her opponent gets sick too early, and she has to spar with Xaden instead. Xaden removes her daggers while sparring just to show that he can, and he teaches her to fight according to her body type and to aim for what would be weak points. He also reveals that he knows that she’s been poisoning her opponents before challenge matches.
Questions:
What’s changing about Xaden at this stage?
What do you think of Violet’s plan to poison her opponents?
Where do you sit with rules/doing what you can to win?
Challenge 3: The Gauntlet
Violet and her squad get their first practice session attempting to complete the Gauntlet which is a vertical obstacle course that cadets must complete before Threshing, but each session Violet struggles and fails to complete the second to last obstacle. Before the official Gauntlet run, Xaden tells her that the right way isn’t the only way. So, during her official run, Violet takes advantage of the exact wording of the rules to complete the Gauntlet in a way that wasn’t intended. And while it was legal, Amber Mavis, an older wingleader, was upset that she was able to bend the rules and not be punished for it.
Challenge 4: Parading & Threshing
Violet overhears three of her squadmates, Jack, Oren, and Tynan, talking about killing the smaller dragon that they saw during Presentation a few days earlier. Violet beats them to the dragon and fights them off to protect the golden dragon. She sustained many injuries, but Xaden and his dragon saw the fight, and his dragon’s mate, Tairn, showed up and killed Tynan. Violet bonds with Tairn and the golden dragon, Andarna.
Since there are many cadets that do not bond with a dragon, several of them work together, and with the help of Amber Mavis, who unlocks Violet’s door, they try to kill her in her sleep. Violet wakes up before they can and stops time for a few seconds, thanks to Andarna’s gift, which gives Xaden enough time to get to her room to save her. Xaden kills all the cadets who tried to kill Violet, and the next day Amber is executed for assisting with the assassination attempt. - Fandom Wiki
Challenge 5: Squad Battle
In Squad Battle, Commandant Panchek announces that the squads need to find and acquire the one thing that would put their enemy at an advantage and present it to leadership within three hours. They divvy up the squads with their leaders and they have to brainstorm what to steal. Violet being as cunning as she is wants to steal a map from her mother’s office. The team works together to get the map even though there are guards in the way.
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