Review by Booklist Review
Strangers arrive at Rafi's door and threaten his father, but that's just the beginning of trouble for the lad. After neighbors accuse him of being dragon-touched and setting a cottage on fire, he sets out to find the dragon that used to protect their village. Rafi teams up with Maud, a girl who proclaims herself a dragon scientist while hiding her true identity. She helps Rafi uncover an evil manufacturer's scheme to rip coal from the mountains and send villagers to labor in factories. When his village is targeted, Rafi summons his inner dragon and finds the protector he has sought. Aided by a sprinkling of clues, readers intrigued by mysteries may try to figure out Rafi's and Maud's secrets, but most will be content to let Rafi's first-person narrative sweep them along as the action becomes more intense and the intertwined stories more involving. The author of the Magic Thief series, Prineas offers a fantasy adventure with vivid main characters, a worthy quest, and a satisfying twist near the end.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-A classic middle grade quest story. Rafi's bright orange hair, dark eyes, and imperviousness to heat and cold set him apart from the other children in his hillside village, and he's strangely fascinated with Dragonfell, the nearby lair of a long-gone dragon. When scheming strangers threaten his community unless the townspeople turn him over, the boy leaves to draw the evildoers away. Determined to find the truth about the mysterious beasts and about himself, he joins self-proclaimed "dragon scientist" Maud on a search for answers. Along the way the travelers discover, and decide to foil, the schemers' plot to slaughter dragons. Written for a younger audience than Prineas' "Magic Thief" series, this novel features strong male and female main characters, villains with a bit of depth, a spectrum of interesting magical creatures, and an ever increasing herd of goats. Rafi's first-person present-tense narration dishes out plenty of action as the children run from wicked humans, dragons, and vaporwagons. There's a great big twist at the end that more sophisticated readers will enjoy figuring out long before the characters do. It's all great fun with a well-integrated message about being stuck in a confining shape until you can be who you truly are. VERDICT Dragon books are always popular; this one in particular is the perfect choice for graduates of Tracey West's "Dragon Masters" books.-Beth Wright Redford, formerly of Richmond Elementary School Library, VT © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Where be dragons?The Dragonfell is the high place where young Rafi Bywater goes to contemplate the memory of the teacup-hoarding dragon that once protected his village. One day two strangers show up accusing Rafi of having evil power from dragons and demanding to take him from the village. It is when Rafi is threatened by these strangers that previously unknown abilities ignite, literally, with a fire power that can hurt others. His father confirms that he is indeed dragon-touched. Then, as sudden flames consume the house of a village elder, she tells him that he must go find the dragon so it can once again protect the village. Accused of the destruction, Rafi is chased out of the village and goes on a quest in search of the dragon. Along the way, he saves Maud, a young scientist who had been offered as a sacrifice for another community's local aging dragon. Maud accompanies Rafi to the city of Skarth, where answers lie and may prove, once and for all, if dragons are truly evil or protectors. What starts as a redundant trope of the kid who has powers linked to dragons is freshened by an unexpected twist that deepens the bond of friendship between Rafi and Maud. Rafi, who narrates in an assured past tense, is assumed white with red hair, and Maud has brown skin, black hair, and freckles.An adventurous dragon tale that delivers an emotionally satisfying ending. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
