Fourth Wing — Is It Appropriate for Kids?

Name: Fourth Wing
ISBN: 9781649377371

Content themes

Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.

Violence

Central

Students fight, strangle, stab and try to kill each other throughout the story, and dragons and magic users kill people in battle.

“Frequent violence, fighting, battles, and some blood and death as characters face peril and danger.” commonsensemedia.org
“Dragons and wyverns fight and maul each other, rip throats out, claw and slice and shred each other.” commonsensemedia.org

Scary content

Supporting

Violet faces constant danger of death, including gruesome falls, poisonings, attacks and wizards who kill civilians.

“Young people fall to gruesome deaths from cliff edges, ledges, towers, high windows.” commonsensemedia.org
“Wizards kill civilians, including children, and cause some to "desiccate and shrivel."” commonsensemedia.org

Profanity

Supporting

Characters swear regularly, using strong words such as the f-word and s-word.

“Characters swear regularly” commonsensemedia.org

Sexual content

Supporting

The romance includes several explicit sex scenes, some lasting pages, along with frank sex talk and jokes.

“The book also has explicit sex scenes, some several pages long” commonsensemedia.org

Gender & orientation

Brief

Common Sense Media says one of the secondary characters is nonbinary.

“Secondary characters include one who's nonbinary and another who uses sign language to communicate” commonsensemedia.org

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Summaries and source quotes for every theme.

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Example theme card

Religion

PRESENT

Contains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.

About this book

A #1 New York Times bestseller • TV series in development at MGM Amazon Studios with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society • Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 • Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 • Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 • NPR “Books We Love” 2023 • Audible Best Books of 2023 • Hudson Book of the Year • Google Play Best Books of 2023 • Indigo Best Books of 2023 • Waterstones Book of the Year finalist • Goodreads Choice Award Winner • Newsweek Staffers’ Favorite Books of 2023 • Paste Magazine’s Best Books of 2023 • TikTok Book Awards UK and Ireland Book of the Year (International) 2024

“Suspenseful, sexy, and with incredibly entertaining storytelling, the first in Yarros’ Empyrean series will delight fans of romantic, adventure-filled fantasy.” ―Booklist, starred review

“Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end... A fantasy like you’ve never read before.” ―#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame
Book #3 Onyx Storm

Frequently asked questions

Is Fourth Wing appropriate for a 7-year-old?

Students fight, strangle, stab and try to kill each other throughout the story, and dragons and magic users kill people in battle. Violet faces constant danger of death, including gruesome falls, poisonings, attacks and wizards who kill civilians.

Does Fourth Wing have violence?

Found (Central): Students fight, strangle, stab and try to kill each other throughout the story, and dragons and magic users kill people in battle.

Does Fourth Wing have scary content?

Found (Supporting): Violet faces constant danger of death, including gruesome falls, poisonings, attacks and wizards who kill civilians.

Does Fourth Wing have religion?

Not found in the sources we checked.

Does Fourth Wing have race & culture?

Not found in the sources we checked.

Does Fourth Wing have profanity?

Found (Supporting): Characters swear regularly, using strong words such as the f-word and s-word.

Does Fourth Wing have climate?

Not found in the sources we checked.

Does Fourth Wing have sexual content?

Found (Supporting): The romance includes several explicit sex scenes, some lasting pages, along with frank sex talk and jokes.

Does Fourth Wing have gender roles?

Not found in the sources we checked.

Does Fourth Wing have gender & orientation?

Found (Brief): Common Sense Media says one of the secondary characters is nonbinary.

Fourth Wing — Content Guide for Parents

Content themes

Violence

Scary content

Profanity

Sexual content