Dorothea's Song [Kindle Edition]

Ron Vitale (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Peter is your typical high school student, but when his mother's failing marriage to his stepfather begins to split his family apart he copes by dreaming up the story of Dorothea, an elf who lives in the magical Bois d'or forest. Seizing the opportunity to release his frustrations in his French teacher's nightly writing assignment, Peter shares Dorothea's story with his teacher, imagining a world in which a coven of witches, a renegade elf lord and the humans have joined forces to conquer the elvish forest.

With the Bois d'or on the verge of being invaded, Dorothea and her friends embark on a quest to find the wizard Mohan who will help them save their homeland. But the witches have other plans. They have set the three ancient evils of Anger, Fear and Lust against Dorothea. Can Dorothea survive the three curses and find Mohan in time to save her homeland? Dorothea's fate is in Peter's hands, but as his mother's marriage deteriorates and his infatuation with his French teacher increases, he must find a way to rise above the insanity and save not only Dorothea's home but also his own.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 427 KB
• Print Length: 339 pages
• Publisher: Lulu Press; 1 edition (October 9, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00243GMEE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,731 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Ron Vitale was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of the young adult novel Cinderella's Secret Diary (Book 1: Lost), the fantasy novel Dorothea's Song and the science fiction short story collection The Jovian Gate Chronicles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent combination of genres., September 4, 2011

By 

Brian Burkart (Willow Grove, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dorothea's Song (Kindle Edition)

"Dorothea's Song" by Ron Vitale mixes a modern (or at least the recent past) coming of age story with a grand fantasy quest. The author is able to juggle the requirements of both genres very well. The narrator is a high school student who is writing a fantasy story as a translation exercise for his French class. The fantasy story is where the title comes from and it involves elves, witches and large battles. In the modern chapters the author really captures the spirit of youth, his narrator seems real and not a cardboard thin character. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting take on high fantasy, July 12, 2011

By 

SM Reine "SM Reine" (Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorothea's Song (Kindle Edition)

Peter is a dreamer. With his home life falling apart and his spiritual life in crisis, his safe haven is his French teacher-- the only adult willing to listen to his problems and sympathize. He begins to craft an elaborate tale of epic fantasy to share with her, casting his teacher in the lead role. The story soon takes on a life of its own. Dorothea is a fierce elven warrior in a kingdom on the brink of collapse, and the climax (inside and outside the story) is a compelling read.

I particularly enjoyed Peter's parts of this book. His troubled home life is something any reader can empathize with, and it was interesting seeing the problems escalate in his fantasy world as problems escalated in reality. Although the writing is somewhat unpolished, the raw quality suits the tenor of the book. The domestic conflict contrasts nicely with the traditional high fantasy setting, which (as a genre) tends to be rather grand.

At only $0.99 in the Kindle Store, Dorothea's Song is a worthwhile way to pass the weekend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good blend of two stories, April 19, 2011

By 

Sophia Martin "rosehips" (Mount Shasta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dorothea's Song (Kindle Edition)

When I first bought a Kindle, this was my very first Kindlebook. I hoped it wouldn't disappoint--and it didn't! Right away, Dorothea's Song captured my attention, so much so that I abandoned the novel I had been reading.

Dorothea's Song struck me immediately because not only was it cleanly formatted and edited, but because it combined two very different stories. The premise of Dorothea's Song is that a 16 year old student at a private school is writing a fantasy adventure story for his French class--translating portions of the story into French for the assignment. He has a wonderful French teacher, who he cares for, and he writes about his main character, Dorothea, as a tribute to her. The majority of the novel is the fantasy story, but the young man's story interrupts every so often. I found both stories to be compelling, and it struck me that the voice of the young man was very authentic. I teach high school English, and it sounded very much like what a sensitive, articulate student might write. I found out after finishing the novel that Ron actually wrote it as a teenager--so my feeling was confirmed!

The choice to include the young man's voice was a brilliant move, because it gave me a reason to forgive the flaws in the writing. Some phrasing is awkward and the dialogue is fairly wooden. But keeping in mind that this is meant to be a story written by a sixteen-year-old, I found it didn't bother me. I think it wouldn't bother the average reader anyway, even without the teen protagonist.

My only complaint comes at the end of the narrator's story. An interaction with the teacher left me feeling disappointed and I didn't really understand what she said to him. I wish this could have been better resolved.

Overall, however, I enjoyed Dorothea's Song. I recommend it to older teenagers and fans of YA fantasy.