Fourth Wing
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Screen for YOUR familyParent's Guide to Fourth Wing
Fourth Wing is the first novel in Rebecca Yarros's 'The Empyrean' series, primarily categorized as a 'romantasy'—a blend of romance and fantasy. The story follows Violet Sorrengail as she is unwillingly thrust into the dangerous world of dragon riders at Basgiath War College. Survival is a daily challenge, with deadly training, treacherous political maneuverings, and the constant threat of lethal dragons. Violet must navigate this brutal environment, uncover hidden truths about her kingdom, and confront powerful adversaries, including Xaden Riorson, whose family has a history with her own. While featuring a strong female lead and a compelling fantasy setting with dragons and magic, the book is explicitly aimed at a New Adult audience, containing mature themes, graphic content, and complex relationships not typically found in Young Adult literature.
Things to Consider
Violence
Fourth Wing contains frequent, graphic, and intense violence. The narrative includes brutal training exercises, battles, and numerous instances of death, with explicit descriptions of injuries and fatalities. The war college setting inherently involves life-threatening situations and combat.
Recruits, generally aged 18-22, die in various gruesome ways, such as being incinerated by dragon fire, falling to their deaths, or having their necks snapped during training. Violet Sorrengail proactively poisons opponents she is mandated to fight. Descriptions include dead children and a character's leg being eaten by a monster.
Romance and Sexual Content
The book features explicit and graphic sexual content, including detailed sex scenes between the main characters, Violet and Xaden. There are also references to sexual arousal, masturbation, and an unusual scene involving empathic dragon sexual activity.
Profanity
Fourth Wing contains pervasive and frequent strong profanity. Numerous curse words are used throughout the dialogue, including high counts of the f-word and s-word, along with other common expletives. Religious exclamations using the book's fictional 'gods' are also very common.
Scary & Intense Content
The book contains highly intense and frightening content due to its war college setting, constant threat of death, and violent conflicts. The stakes are consistently high, leading to numerous suspenseful and potentially traumatic scenes.
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Additional Context
Best For Ages
18+ due to the presence of graphic violence, explicit sexual content, pervasive strong language, and mature themes. Multiple sources classify this book as 'New Adult' rather than 'Young Adult,' highlighting its suitability for adult readers.
Good to Know
The book is the first in 'The Empyrean' series, with sequels like 'Iron Flame' and 'Onyx Storm' continuing the narrative and maintaining similar mature content levels, suggesting ongoing concerns for parents across the series. The categorization as 'New Adult' rather than 'Young Adult' by many reviewers is a critical distinction for parents to note due to the explicit content.
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