User blog:Jadeseeker Everworth/I just put together why Moon Rising is (still) my favorite book!

No matter how much the third arc impresses me with how quality the writing is and how relatable the characters are, Moon Rising continues to be my all time favorite book (okay, okay, The Poison Jungle has a major opportunity to snag that title).

I've tried to figure out why for a good long while now. Maybe I found the story intriguing. Maybe I loved seeing what it's like right after a war, as surely that's a confusing time. Maybe, after all of that Darkstalker drama, it was refreshing to go back to a point in time where I was not even the slightest bit loathing of him. Maybe it was because it was the second book I remember crying the first time I read a certain scene. Perhaps it was the fact that it contains the first scene in the series with a clearly gay character. Perhaps it was the fact that the main character had a secret to hide; after all, I'd always loved the part in superhero stories where the secret identity is at risk - even if it doesn't get revealed in the end, there's still that moment of complete and total tension. Like how you know that within the first twenty minutes of Frozen, Elsa's powers are going to get a dramatic and public reveal. Like how you know that Moon's mind reading and visions are going to get revealed dramatically halfway through the book.

...like how it ties in perfectly with a society that forces a extremely emotionally vulnerable task upon LGBTQ+ individuals: coming out.

I don't know why it didn't hit me sooner. I mean, "Let It Go" has been embraced as a coming out anthem, and Elsa and Moon are very similar. They have both been taught that their powers are a curse, and that they should go to great lengths to hide them. There is only ever one creature (Anna, in Elsa's case; Turtle, in Moon's case) who is instantaneously accepting of them and tries to support them despite everyone else's unflattering opinions. And so forth, and so forth.

The stories here accurately represent the truths and emotions and sometimes devastating reveals and hardships that happen as a result of coming out, just with different setup and specifics. It matters not the identities of the characters, in fact, I don't think "coming out" is a thing in either of the worlds these stories take place in. After all, enforcing "coming out" as a necessary action perpetuates the ideology that cis/het is the default.

I think it's really great that these issues are tackled in such subtle ways. I think it makes it easier for the series to be interesting for all ages. You can start out just appreciating the dragon stories because that's all you see, but if you continue to reread as you learn and grow, you can understand the content as a reflection of our human society. Even Tui has confirmed that the third arc, especially the characters she's chosen to represent it sofar, are a reflection of current American society, and how to know where our empathy for those who have wronged us should end.

I just think it's really cool, is all.