#BookReview: Peanut Goes to School by Thea Harrison - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Peanut Goes to School 
Series: Elder Races #6.7
Author: Thea Harrison 
Format: ebook, 55 pages
Expected publication: July 14th 2014 
ISBN: 0989972879
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | ARe
Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Linda
Rating: 5/5

This is a short story (15,100 words or 55 pages) intended for readers of the Elder Races who enjoy Liam Cuelebre, aka Peanut, as a character. 
Dragos Cuelebre is no longer the only dragon.
Dragos’s son Liam Cuelebre (a.k.a. Peanut) is springing into existence, reminiscent of the first of the Elder Races who were born at the beginning of the world. At just six months of age, he has already grown to the size of a large five-year-old boy. He can read, write in complete sentences, and his math skills are off the chart.
A white dragon in his Wyr form, Liam also holds more Power than almost anyone else. In an effort to give him a taste of normality, no matter how fleeting, his parents Pia and Dragos enroll him in first grade.
They hope school will help teach Liam how to relate to others, a vital skill that will help him control his growing Power. But school has a surprising number of pitfalls, and relating to others can be a tricky business.
When a classmate is threatened, Liam must quickly learn self-control, how to rein in his instincts, and govern his temper, because there’s no doubt about it—he is fast becoming one of the most dangerous creatures in all of the Elder Races.

Thoughts:
AN ENCHANTING DOSE OF WARM FUZZIES ...

PEANUT GOES TO SCHOOL by Thea Harrison is the third in a series of paranormal novellas featuring Dragos, Pia and Liam, aka Peanut.  I fell in love with Thea's Elder Races series from the very first book, DRAGON  BOUND,  and every book following has been an exciting treat.  This novella, officially # 6.7 in the line-up, is another marvelous addition.  I can't get enough of Dragos' family!  They're my favorites!   This tale has just a tad of romance, but it still has plenty of sweet courtesy of Peanut.   Peanut is growing in huge bursts thanks to his dragon half.  I hate that his folks are missing many of the familiar childhood milestones, but Peanut is writing his own life story his way.

As much as I loved PEANUT GOES TO SCHOOL, I would not start the series with this book.  There are interconnected characters and, without familiar tie-ins courtesy of the prior books, I can't imagine reading it as a standalone and fully enjoying it.  Do yourself a favor and start with the first book, DRAGON BOUND, get hooked - there's no doubt you will - and then enjoy them all in order.  In the context of the series, this book is a fabulous read.   

This novella takes up where PIA SAVES THE DAY, the 2nd novella in this trilogy, left off.  Peanut has grown from a baby to the size of a first grader in just six months.  Peanut is a total cutie pie yet a typical kid in some ways.  At the beginning, there's some cute scenes with him playing at being a spy around his home.  "My code name is Double Oh Peanut, but you can call me Rock Star for short."  His aspiration is to become one of his Dad's sentinels some day.  He has a genius-level intellect and his folks are rightly worried about his social development.  To assist Peanut in developing  feelings for others,  they're packing him off to school.

In this book, we get to witness Peanut learn control of his dragon side as he accepts differences in others and deftly figures out how to handle conflicts.   Most of the book is told from Peanut's point of view as the reader witnesses Peanut's amazing thought-processes as he handles extremely difficult social situations at home and at school.   I wish every school could have a Peanut as he has a wonderful way of handling bullies.   He's growing up to be a wonderful young Wyr.  I'm impressed!

I want to share just a few of my favorite quotes from this darling read:

“Mom's smiles were the most beautiful thing in the world, and they almost always made things better. They almost even made an early bedtime okay, but not quite.” 

---

“She asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He buried his nose in her hair, took a deep breath and sighed. "You help just be being here."

"Well, that bit is easy," she told him with a smile. "Because I wouldn't be anywhere else.” 

---

“Try not to be too stupid, will you?"

That sounded like some great advice...” 

---

“Suddenly, she burst out, "I want to punch her evil, lying face."

Liam caught a flash of hot gold as Dad looked at them, narrow-eyed, in the rearview mirror. Dad said, completely seriously, "I can make that happen.” 

---

“That night he ate so much spaghetti, Mom said he was in danger of turning into a big noodle, which made him laugh so hard, he fell out of his chair.” 


One of my favorite scenes in the tale was a father/son talk.  Dragos may be an older-than-dirt terrifying dragon, but he is so gentle and loving with Peanut.  He's just the perfect Dad.  I think Peanut needs some brothers and sisters!

Bottomline:  Prepare yourself for some heart-warming family time with the Dragos clan.    Who would have ever thought a first day at school could be so phenomenally exciting?  I laughed a LOT and was left with a huge case of the warm fuzzies.   If you're a fan of the series as I am, this was a PERFECT Elder Races fix until the next release, NIGHT'S HONOR, in September 2014!