Sunny

Sunny is the warmhearted, golden SandWing/NightWing hybrid dragonet in Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire series — small for her age and lacking the SandWing's venomous tail or the NightWing's mind-reading abilities, but possessed of an optimism and a genuine belief in the other dragonets' ability to achieve the prophecy that makes her the group's emotional heart. Sutherland writes Sunny as the character whose essential goodness is the series' moral anchor.

Sunny's hybrid status — belonging fully to neither of her parent tribes — gives her a perspective on tribal identity that the others, more secure in their tribal belonging, do not share. Her book in the series explores her background and her nature with genuine depth, and the revelations about her parentage give the prophecy itself a different meaning than any of the dragonets had understood.

The Wings of Fire series has become one of middle-grade fantasy's most popular ongoing series, with Sutherland's detailed dragon world and her ensemble of distinct dragonet personalities driving consistently strong readership. Sunny's particular combination of vulnerability and resilience makes her especially beloved. Begin with The Dragonet Prophecy (2012).