The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

3/5. A cute little story suitable for tweens about the rebellious dragon who goes off adventuring against her mother's wishes and ends up turned into a human girl. Which works out okay because it lets her discover her life's passion: chocolate.

Cute. Diana Wynne Jonesish around the edges. The younger readers, all edges neatly squared away version of Jones. This book did make me ponder a bit why so many kidlit titles fall into the broad category of 'X plunges face first into the world, discovers humans are weird.' I guess it makes sense that kids would identify with stories about people who are just passing for a civilized member of society – or not passing very well, as in the case of this book. And also that kids would appreciate a story about someone experiencing the world like an alien come to it fresh to squint confusedly at all these complicated customs. That's basically what being a kid was like for me, so.

Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray

Leia, Princess of Alderaan

3/5. A Star Wards new canon book about Leia at sixteen, tripping and forcing her way into the rebellion her parents are trying to build.

I've realized that I appreciate that Claudia Gray keeps writing Leia books, but that I don't actually want to read them? Mostly because new canon is not my canon, and I only care about it so much. And this book is indubitably new canon, even though it is set before the original trilogy. You can tell because the metric fuckton of dramatic irony is largely suspended from new canon stuff. (Though points for making Holdo so weird, she gives Luna Lovegood a run for her money). So much dramatic irony. So so much. Leia's family is complete with no siblings, you know, oh and also her home will always be there for her, and and and. So much dramatic irony that it loses all impact, whereas maybe 10% of it could have been sad and whistful, and you know, dramatically ironic.