Jake Mendoza finds a dying dragon who's just given birth. One of her dragonlets is still alive, so despite the laws forbidding it, the 14-yr-old boy adopts the baby and raises her in secret. 
 I can appreciate that this was an exercise in style for Robin McKinley, but I think it would appeal more to the audience that liked "Sunshine" than the one who liked "Beauty." McKinley seems to have trouble writing as Jake; or perhaps the storyline is simply too bland. Jake does a lot of teenage philosophizing which is at once wise beyond his years and written in the voice of a 12 year old. 
 More than once I put the book down thinking I would not finish it. But, let's face it, Robin McKinley is my God even if she's had a couple of misses these past few years. Although Dragonhaven does improve substantially after the first half, it never comes near the precision of characterization or the depth of human feeling that I've learned to expect from McKinley. 
 Read Instead: "The Blue Sword" or "A Knot in the Grain" (collection)