Here’s another young adult book my friend lent to me, so I’ll give a conservative parent’s review on it.  The first book is called Eon, and the second and last is called Eona.  They were written by Alison Goodman, and although they tell the story of one person, the books are completely different in their stories.  I will keep this review limited to Eon and will type a separate review for Eona.

Although this book is considered to be fantasy, there did not seem to be much fantasy until the end.  In fact, the first half of the book mostly describes the rules and procedures of the fictional empire that has an Asian resemblance.  I was tempted to put the book down for good about halfway through, but it was the only one I had brought to the pool with me.  I continued to read it, and it eventually got better.  I even enjoyed the ending. Once you get past the first half of the book, the action begins, and there is a lot of bloodshed and death by sword. There is war and fighting and images of a baby being slaughtered. Most of the characters in this book have had a hard life due to slavery, and this is not a book filled with much happiness.

As for sexual content, Eon is a teenage girl posing as a young boy, and romance is not a consideration for her. However, she does pose as a eunuch (a male with his manly removed), and there is a hint at a romance between a eunuch man and a trans woman named Lady Dela. Lady Dela and the eunuch are both main characters in the story and are strong friends with Eon. Gender crossing is an important part of this book.

As for religious matter, they prayed to their ancestors, considered the imperial family as gods, and relied on the dragons to save the world from natural disasters.

Overall, I thought the first half of the book as drudgery to get through, but I enjoyed the second half filled with action and battles. I won’t say it was a great read, but I will say I enjoyed Eona much more than Eon. I’ve also done a review on Eona.