January 13, 2026 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Denny Greene and her best friend Runa have spent years making up stories about an imaginary world, Sorrowfield, and have even written a book about it, The Tales of Dragons True. As their twelfth birthday approaches, however, Runa wants to distance herself from this imaginary pursuit, and wants Denny to grow up. Denny is struggling for several reasons; she isn't interested in clothes or makeup like Runa is, and she has to deal with her mother's alcoholism. Runa's friend Sadie is quite mean to Denny, even after Denny wins the role of Dorothy in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. We also meet Princess Auden, who lives in Sorrowfield. Her parents and two older sisters were taken by dragons, and when she turns twelve, Duke Verdon and Duchess Dutton expect her to solve the dragon problem. Their daughter, Lady Genevive, is the Sorrowfield counterpart for Runa. When presents of birthday mirrors cause the two girls to venture into each other's worlds, the problems become more difficult. Auden has to navigate middle school, and Denny has to figure out how to fight dragons... in a ball gown! While Denny is in danger of having her entire kingdom taken over by another ruler if she can't solve the dragon problem, Auden has to perform in the play, figure out arguments with Runa, and watch as her mother's drinking problem culminates with her getting behind the wheel of a car and crashing. Eventually, Denny manages to fight the dragons by looking them in the eye, which she is told is NOT the thing to do, but manages to save the day. After she comes back from Sorrowfield, she has a lot to catch up on, and work to do on her relationships.
Strengths: Readers who enjoy Haydu's different worlds and allegorical stories, like The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple & Dorothy, will find Denny's adventures in the kingdom she made up fascinating. There are a fair number to tween friendships that break up when one friend matures more quickly than the other, and Denny and Runa's rift makes perfect sense. There aren't a lot of stories involving alcoholic parents (although Petro-Roy's Life in the Balance and Zarr's Kyra, Just for Today are quite good), so that was an interesting inclusion.
Weaknesses: This was a bit repetitive. We hear over and over that being twelve changes everything, and that princesses "know what to do". The mother's alcoholism runs parallel to the problems with dragons in a way that may not make sense to younger readers.
Weaknesses: This was a bit repetitive. We hear over and over that being twelve changes everything, and that princesses "know what to do". The mother's alcoholism runs parallel to the problems with dragons in a way that may not make sense to younger readers.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a portal fantasy like Trehan's Snow, Durst's Even and Odd, or Short's The Legend of Greyhallow, but want a side of problems and allegory with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment