This was a very fun and breezy read for me. I enjoyed the setting the most: a sea full of island-kingdoms, populated by all sorts of dangerous animals, including the most dangerous and respected of all: the seadragon.

Little is known about the seadragons, because they act very differently in captivity than in the wild. (There are also seaglass-colored horse-like creatures to ride on!)

I would definitely want to study all these animals if I lived in that universe, so I can relate to the main character, Hanalei, who’s always loved studying seadragons.

The island-kingdom we focus on is Tamarind (yes the book called Dragonfruit has an island named after another fruit) and I found this island very charming.

The description of the way they live there, the jobs and the houses and the arts, is so interesting to read about. I liked also how it talked about the culture of respecting elders and family.

One cool thing about this island is that whatever magic happens there doesn’t exist outside of it. I’m a big fan of spatially-limited enchantments lol. We also spend some time on a pirate ship (more like a privateer ship ig) which is obviously super fun.

Another thing I really liked was the presence of colonial powers in the islands without it becoming a “resisting imperialism” story. It felt like a glimpse of an liminal period of time where both the original island powers and foreign powers can coexist. The Tamarindi must rely on diplomacy to remain independent. The author herself was born in Guam which has a long history with imperialism up to today.

One thing about this book is that it generally had a very light tone, which I didn’t mind, but in certain scenes it just seemed over-the-top/cartoon-y/almost like something you would see in a show or a movie, not like a book, iykwim. It wasn’t bad and it was even a bit cute, but it was a little surprising/jarring to me.

I enjoyed all the characters. I will say that the villains felt like they should be more important but fizzled out a bit. But the main characters were great. They were very sensible which was so refreshing. I was afraid there would be an annoying miscommunication but instead they resolved it with communication! Very pleased by this.

I also liked seeing Hanalei make a friend and Sam, the other MC, develop his relationship with his cousin. Those two subplots were really endearing.

That being said I, as always, have some quibbles.

Firstly, although Hanalei’s feelings about her family were handled very well, I feel like we didn’t see enough of what Sam thought of his mother. I also wanted to learn more about his thoughts on religion since he seemed almost atheist which was unexpected.

Secondly, it was dumb that they didn’t even consider other people backstabbing them. I also felt like we were leading up to a big moment of betrayal that just didn’t happen.

Thirdly, I don’t understand how what happened to Fetu (iykyk) happened.

Fourthly, I felt like the ending came just a little bit too easily, and I felt like more permanent consequences should have been felt. Otherwise I thought the ending was cute though.

Finally I felt like the twist about a certain character was a) obvious (but idrc about that; the narrative wasn’t shocking or unexpected ever but it didn’t need to be, it was just a fun ride) and b) wasn’t explained enough for it to make sense. Because why was he doing all that 🤨

Ultimately I did enjoy reading this book and although the characters and plot weren’t super deep or unexpected, I was definitely rooting for the main characters and I liked them a lot. And really liked the setting and magic of it all. It was a classic YA story that doesn’t challenge you too much but gets you to dream. Dare I say it felt refreshing… (like the ocean, get it?)