Lightningborn and Sleeping Spells

Kagawa, Julie. Lightningborn (Storm Dragons #1)

April 2, 2024 by Disney Hyperion

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Remy is a street urchin whose father has left and whose mother has died of a wasting disease. He lives in the family's mouldering house in Cutthroat Wedge that no one has bothered to repossess, and manages to get by. He often hangs out at the local pub and talks to Crusty Bart, a storyteller who shares his love of dragons. When sky pirates steal Bart's coin purse, Remy goes after them, risking life and limb and not making friends when he outwits the pirates by jumping into the Maelstrom, since the whole kingdom is sort of free floating through the sky. Gem, on the other hand, has a life of privilege. She's the princess of and attends the College of Magic, where the students where black trousers, leather boots, and dark blue tunics with billowy sleeves (page 27 of the E ARC). She is often in trouble for using her magic improperly, but she is also worried that several of the mages have left, especially when she hears that the magic that keeps the kingdom afloat is being drained. Doing some reading in the school library, she comes across information about Ancient Ones and is determined to find out more. Remy, in the meantime, comes across a baby dragon after a spell storm, and keeps him, with Crusty Bart's help. It's really a dragon belonging to a very evil pirate, Jhaeros, who turns the neighborhood upside down trying to find the dragon. He captures both Storm, the dragon, and Bart, and whisks them away in the Windshark. Gem shows up in Cutthroat Wedge looking for the former sky pirate, Sir Bartello, who might have information that would help her find the Ancients and restore the magic. She and Remy join forces, and are also aided by a somewhat nicer pirate, Captain Cutlass, aka Mary Featherbottom. This pirate decides that helping the princess might be to her advantage. Will the two be able to retrieve their friends, vanquish Jhaeros, and save the day? (Spoiler: This is Storm Dragons #1, so the answer to that question is "not yet"!)

Strengths: Even though this is rather long (336 pages), it is a quick read. I was able to remember the different characters and the plot even though I didn't take notes, and this is a sign of good fantasy writing, since I often struggle with fantasy. This has the undeniable appeal of having one's own baby dragon, and of course Remy and Gem get to try to save the day. The cover will appeal to fans of Tui Sutherland's books, Durst's Spark, London's Battle Dragons, and Ritter's The Great Dragon Race. The floating kingdom reminded me of Savage's Mysteries of Cove or Ross' The Fog Diver. 
Weaknesses: Kagawa certainly writes a compelling dragon fantasy, but this book embraces standard fantasy conventions rather than breaking any new ground. There are already lots of street urchins, kingdoms running out of magic, and endangered dragons in quasi-Dickensian settings, but for a reason; readers who like this type of book can't get enough of them. 
What I really think: While this wasn't my personal favorite, I do need a fair number of dragon books for my readers. It's a perennially popular topic, and while I haven't had as many fantasy readers this year, dragon books are like horse books; I always need a couple new ones every year for those readers who are obsessed. The cover is very appealing, so I'll purchase a copy. 

Swore, Wendy. Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales

April 2, 2024 by Shadow Mountain

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Liam has been friends with Alaina for a long time. When they were in second grade, Alaina's dog, Festus, ran off and got in trouble in the park, and Alaina has always maintained that he crashed into a fairy area and caused a curse to be placed on the two. She was diagnosed with diabetes, and the two were never as close. Fast forward to middle school, and Liam is injured falling off his bike. Alaina sees him; nothing hits him, he just collapses. The two have to work on a school fairy tale project together where they have to write their own tale to help make sense of the world. Liam struggles with his health, and collapses several times. He plays soccer, and has had concussions before. His parents take him to the doctor, but believe that he is so tired because he stays up too late. Alaina knows what it is like to have people not take your health seriously; a substitute teacher tries to take away her diabetic monitor after he tells the students they can't have any devices out, and she almost passes out. Liam comes to her aid, her mother gets an alert on her phone, and the substitute does not come back. Liam starts to have trouble in school, and eventually tells his parents exactly how he feels. They take him back to the doctor, determined to get answers, especially after he falls asleep at soccer practice and his "friend" Jeremy takes a video of him that goes viral. People tease him and give him a hard time, but his diagnosis of narcolepsy is a small help. Alaina believes that the problems are caused by the fairy curse; she is also heavily into playing Dungeons and Dragons. When the two go on a field trip for a Marine Biologry program, they get caught out on a trail and both have health emergencies. Can they manage to save each other? 
Strengths: This had a lot of good information about diabetes; I understand the mother's reluctance to send Alaina on a school trip, since I have had diabetic students in my care on the cross country team and Washington, D.C. trips and am always hypervigilant with them! My best friend in middle school suffered from undiagnosed narcolepsy for years; I was in charge of sitting behind her in class and waking her up if I saw her drift off, but it never occurred to anyone to take her to the doctor for this! The scenes at the school concerning the fairy tale project arae absolutely spot on; we used to have an almost identical project for out sixth grade lanaguage arts classes. The D&D representation is appreciated, and the fantasy and realistic elements blend well together. 
Weaknesses: While this is a clever pairing of health issues and fantasy, I would rather see a realistic story about students with these health challenges, akin to Davis' Food Fight. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like books such as Malinenko's This Appearing House or Reynold's Izzy at the End of the World that discuss health matters in an allegorical fashion or this author's The Wish and the Peacock or A Monster Like Me.