Going From Being An Outsider To Finding Your Tribe

Upperhead has grand delusions that he is really human. When Garrodigh’s home isn’t safe anymore, and no other dragons will offer them shelter, they decide to play severely ill so they can be taken to the kingdom that runs the dragon rider academy. Centerhead wants to use it as an opportunity to heal their body enough so they can destroy humanity once and for all. However, as Centerhead sees how much their new rider, Rania, fights for all three heads and works to heal their wounds, will he be able to go through with his master plan or find out he has more in common with humanity than he realizes?

Garrodigh is interesting as a character. Three heads are always vying for control: Bottomhead eating something the others don’t like, Upperhead’s delusions getting in the way of them moving forward, and Centerhead always trying to take the lead because he thinks he knows what’s best for them. Half the time they don’t like each other, but they know they have to put their differences aside to survive. Everyone doing their own thing is not in their best interests. By doing this, they realize each other’s strengths so they can rely on one another: Upperhead is good at emotions, Bottomhead is good at fighting, and Centerhead is good at talking. When they use their skills effectively and together, there is no task they can’t handle. 

Speaking of tasks, Garrodigh has multiple hard tasks trying to recover from their disability. The novel shows how Rania helped to rehabilitate Garrodigh’s legs and wings. It is brutal. All three heads feel the pain of their physical therapy to try to get their left leg and wings stronger bit by bit. They hated what Rania was doing to them, but they saw the benefits in time. They still had pain in their leg and wings and knew they would always be there, but now they could utilize them for mobility and fighting. 

However, not everything about them can be fixed. All three heads have lost memory of everything before their fourth head got cut off. The only thing they do remember is that their Lefthead was adamant about helping humans even at the cost of their own lives. Seeing the seared stump where Lefthead used to be is a constant reminder of not only their loss but also how much humans have hurt them in the past. Despite their memory loss, they realize that they can’t always focus on the past and need to make new memories.

Unfortunately, making new memories is a tall order when others ignore you. Garrodigh is an anomaly among dragonkind. The wild dragons of the forest won’t accept them because they have previously helped humans in battle that nearly destroyed everything. The tame dragons won’t talk to Garrodigh either. The tame dragons ignore them completely, no matter how many times Garrodigh reaches out to them, which causes them to be bitter and feel lonely.

I think that is why Garrodigh was able to connect to their human rider, Rania. She is ignored by most of the kingdom because she is a refugee from the enemy kingdom. Many people don’t trust her or her motives, no matter how much she proves her loyalty to the kingdom. She is considered very much an outsider like Garrodigh. The shared grief of not being accepted caused the group to form their own found family and support one another. 

Overall, I loved reading the book. It had a unique take on those with a disability by adequately showing not only Garrodigh’s struggles with his injuries, but also doing the work to grow strong and know their limitations. I also liked how they portrayed that anyone can be an outsider, from frail humans to a powerful dragon. Despite being different, it doesn’t mean that you will never find your tribe. It might not be with the people you expect, but once you find your people, it will feel like home.