DRAGONBORN

A lonely and anxious English girl discovers a family secret in this series opener from acclaimed Scottish author Murray.

Twelve-year-old Alex Evans, who presents white, lives a cloistered life with her controlling mother. Her only escape is the nearby forest, which reminds her of her deceased father. There she meets Oliphos, a kind (and oddly dressed) Black man with a Scottish accent, who tells her something surprising about her heritage. Oliphos introduces Alex to Dr. Archibald P. Puppinsworth, a Dragon Scholar who knows all about the Otherworld, the magical dimension where dragons live. Alex realizes that she possesses a special power that might help locate the Phylactery, a long-missing magical object sought by the villainous Drak Midna, a terrifyingly manipulative—and enormous—ancient dragon. Along the way to Skralla, one of the last dragon refuges, with Oliphos, Alex meets Erik, an orphan with “chestnut curls” who understands what it’s like to feel like an outsider. Both young people are battling unknowns and deep loneliness, and their complex characterization feels realistic even though fantasy worldbuilding forms the backdrop of their friendship. Coming from a highly sheltered background, Alex may be naïve at first, but she grows in maturity and bravery as the book progresses. The well-executed worldbuilding includes portals called waypaths and dragons with creative features. Murray explores themes of intolerance through the world’s history of human-dragon conflict.

Come for the dragons but stay for the suspenseful reveals and relatable characters.