DRAGONDAH

A tween girl’s newly inherited home comes with mysteries and buried secrets in Loxham’s middle-grade series launch.

Eleven-year-old Londoner Ottillee Bottomly has just inherited a “big old house.” She doesn’t know her late benefactor, who’s surprisingly bequeathed Ottillee all of her worldly goods. The girl would rather not move, as she desperately hopes that her father, a documentarian with a popular TV show who’s been missing for 18 months, will return. But her mother (and trustee of the house) decides they will live in the new home—called Dragondah Hall—which is situated on the opposite side of England, in Cornwall. Maybe it’s not so bad: Ottillee meets a curious boy, Finn, who’s never known his birth parents and whose best friends are Shadow, a bat, and Vixen, a fox. And Cornwall only gets more intriguing, with a castle on a nearby island and such lore as a shapeshifting dragon in a local cave. As the youngsters pick up startling bits of local history that may affect the both of them, Ottillee remains steadfastly wary of the man who’s seemingly schmoozing her mother. Although the titular hero is initially a touch pigheaded, she’s thoroughly charming, even when stubbornly refusing to admit to her mother that their new place has its perks. She’s also humbly intelligent, makes an effort to learn Cornish (which Finn speaks fluently), and regularly dispenses memorable phrases like “bossy-boots” and “pooh on a stick.” The rest of the cast follows suit, from the instantly likable Finn to the perhaps villainous guy whom Ottillee keeps her eye on. Much of this tautly written narrative is given to discovery and exposition; quite a few questions are answered, and there’s even a hint of the supernatural. The action leads to an exciting albeit predictable climax that aptly sets the stage for a sequel.

Effervescent characters bolster this diverting tale that celebrates youthful exuberance.