Fast, fun, and fiery—a rousing coming-of-age fantasy.
In Baker’s middle-grade debut, two young brothers discover their half-dragon heritage and defend their new home from attack.
During the Blitz of 1940, 11-year-old Luke and his bespectacled 7-year-old brother, Nick, are evacuated from London and sent to Land’s End, their uncle’s manor house at the westernmost point of England. The boys are given one clear rule to follow: They must stay out of the woods near the house. Naturally, they disobey; within the woods they discover a passageway that magically transports them to Draksmore, the magical island where their father grew up. Here they meet Baltis, an uncle they knew nothing about, as well as their Aunt Larsa and 12-year-old cousin, Finn. More startlingly, they learn that they are descended from a line of half-dragons. Once Luke turns 12 (in three days’ time), he can swear the Oath of the Brothers Dragon and unlock his ability to transform—but first he must conquer his greatest fear. Luke’s greatest fear is that something terrible might happen to his brother—a concern that is manifested when the Draksmorians’ longtime enemies, the piratical Moordocks, kidnap Nick, seeking dragon blood with which to effect their own transformations. Can Luke rescue Nick and, with him, save the island? The author relates Luke's and Nick’s stories through assured prose and age-appropriate dialogue. The boys both make for relatable protagonists—Luke is more active and headstrong, prone to getting himself into trouble, while Nick is reticent yet brave when he needs to be (“Luke’s two loves were swimming and games, especially riddles. Nick, who was four years younger, loved reading”). The adult characters are memorable and varied without being too over-the-top, but the relative lack of female characters feels like a missed opportunity. The world of Draksmore is instantly appealing with its magical history, dragon transformations, and endless opportunities for adventure. While at times the characters’ motivations can feel contrived, for the most part the story unfolds naturally. Once the threat is revealed, events roll along with an urgency that will have young readers clawing at the pages.
Fast, fun, and fiery—a rousing coming-of-age fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9798218258436
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Foxburg & Stern Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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