| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: None Violence level: None (aside from the wild-fires, a wild animal attack, and one attempt at throwing a punch) Back Cover: “Fire weather...That's what the treecats call those rare seasons when the slightest spark can set aflame the vast green reaches they call home. Teen-aged Stephanie Harrington rapidly learns just how deadly those fires can be. Guided by her treecat companion, Lionheart, Stephanie and her good friend Karl Zivonik venture into the heart of a raging inferno to rescue twin treecats put at risk by human carelessness. Only the trio's absolute trust for each other stands between them and disaster. But Sphinx isn't the only thing ripe for burning. Stephanie has fallen hard for new arrival to Sphinx, Anders Whittaker. When Anders vanishes without a trace, Stephanie is at the forefront of the search. Then a lightning strike sets the Copperwall Mountains aflame and as a provisional ranger she is ordered to her post. Will Stephanie choose to honor the claims of her planet or those of her heart?” |
So, in between the two fires, interesting things have to happen to keep us all entertained, right? In this case, the excitement comes from Stephanie's social interaction and general problems with growing up. Not that she doesn't want to grow up—more the opposite. She's not very good with people her age, and prefers the company of adults. (Incidentally, I can relate. At that age, I had a similar problem.)
Here's the thing, though. Most of the time, the Harringtons are shown as a pretty darn good family. They respect and love each other, Stephanie is a good kid (if not always entirely obedient), and her parents both trust her and give her clear ground-rules. So I was shocked by some parts of this. No, they didn't suddenly turn dysfunctional. I suspect David Weber was just trying to portray some teenage angst so Stephanie didn't seem quite so utterly perfect. But let me give you a vague idea of what happens (so as to avoid spoilers). Stephanie asks for something for her upcoming birthday, something she wants very much and has worked very hard to earn. But when she asks, what she gets instead is a disappointment and a lecture about the one aspect of her life where she doesn't excel, and how she needs to do better at it. Seriously?! I mean, I would have been upset by that too, and I'm twice her age! And then you've got the popular parenting faux pas of expecting that just because two people happen to be the same age and are both female and know each other, that they must be friends. I really enjoyed most of the action in this book, even the bits that were more talking than anything, but the parenting reads like a lesson in how not to do it. And that's without even mentioning Dr. Whittaker! In his case, it's possible that his son might actually die of embarrassment some day.