A charming, smartly crafted fantasy world that readers will want to linger in.
The fates of a girl and a dragon intertwine in this middle-grade fantasy.
In the kingdom of Morganshire, 12-year-old Eliana Fallond longs for adventure while helping her family tend the farm. She’s the dependable child between her sister, 14-year-old Alethia, and their 7-year-old twin brothers, Sage and Rowan. As Eliana feeds the chickens one morning, she spies a “flash of vivid turquoise” in the nearby forest. When she enters the dense wood, she encounters a dragon “about as big as a draft horse.” Drawn by his beautiful colors and shy nature, she touches one of the creatures who she’d been taught were hunted to extinction. In doing so, she understands his rumbling speech. Winston is his name, and he’s a young dragon of only “thirty springs.” When Eliana’s mother, Glenna, calls her home, she and Winston agree to meet in the same spot the next day. Meanwhile, at Morgan Castle, someone has stolen the kingdom’s treasure. King Halwyn cannot pay the annual tribute to the Overking of Canting Castle. Counselor Margred suggests that Halwyn use a dragon to locate the missing treasure, as it’s the beasts’ “special talent.” And so Doryu the Dragon Speaker must once more lend his gift to the kingdom to find one of the rare, grand creatures. In this series opener, Evans parcels out the drama among her cast in perfect measure. Winston isn’t merely a fantastic beast to enable Eliana’s growth, but a creature with yearnings similar to her own. Morganshire’s backstory is epic yet contained, revealing a generational conflict between humans and dragons. Gorgeous prose highlights some sinister aspects of the tale, as when the “long, pale hand” of Margred “emerged with a sigh from her silken midnight blue robes and swept like a white moth in an arc.” Alethia’s mentor, Bedwyr, is a master mapmaker, and his enthusiasm for his work will enchant young readers. One key depiction is that of Halwyn’s father, Chares, who aged prematurely because he “suffered from the hatred that burned inside him.” As the narrative’s mystery wraps up, the characters are on excellent footing to face greater dangers in subsequent volumes.
A charming, smartly crafted fantasy world that readers will want to linger in.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-952112-74-4
Page Count: 370
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone.
A 7-year-old descends into the Land of the Lost in search of his beloved comfort object.
Jack has loved Dur Pig long enough to wear the beanbag toy into tattered shapelessness—which is why, when his angry older stepsister chucks it out the car window on Christmas Eve, he not only throws a titanic tantrum and viciously rejects the titular replacement pig, but resolves to sneak out to find DP. To his amazement, the Christmas Pig offers to guide him to the place where all lost Things go. Whiffs of childhood classics, assembled with admirable professionalism into a jolly adventure story that plays all the right chords, hang about this tale of loss and love. Along with family drama, Rowling stirs in fantasy, allegory, and generous measures of social and political commentary. Pursued by the Land’s cruel and monstrous Loser, Jack and the Christmas Pig pass through territories from the Wastes of the Unlamented, where booger-throwing Bad Habits roam, to the luxurious City of the Missed for encounters with Hope, Happiness, and Power (a choleric king who rejects a vote that doesn’t go his way). A joyful reunion on the Island of the Beloved turns poignant, but Christmas Eve being “a night for miracles and lost causes,” perhaps there’s still a chance (with a little help from Santa) for everything to come right? In both the narrative and Field’s accomplished, soft-focus illustrations, the cast presents White.
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-79023-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
