Dragonborn

Alex, still mourning the death of her father, finds out that she is in fact a dragon in human form. As if this was not shocking enough, she has to leave her home and travel to the Hidden Realm and the island of Skralla in order to learn how to be a dragon. There she meets other children who are also dragons and learns the chilling history of her people and the evil Drak Midna, the greatest dragon of them all.

I became completely absorbed in this tale of dragons (I've always loved dragons anyway!) and this highly original take on dragon lives and history. This being Struan Murray, I knew there would be a twist or two in Dragonborn, but I could not guess what would happen and I loved this rollercoaster of an adventure. I'm not to going to give any spoilers - but as with Orphans of the Tide, Murray's earlier series, they were quite breathtaking twists! 

Alex is a wonderful and flawed character. Given this immense power, she remains uncertain that this is what she wants. It made me think, would I want to turn into a dragon, however much I like them?

The cover by Devin Elle Kurtz, who also did the inside illustrations and map, is wonderful. The colours and the dragon are just magnificent and would have made me want to pick it up and read it even without knowing anything about it.

If I was using this in class, the plot and the twists are the features I would draw out. There is great world building - Orphans of the Tide is fantastic in that respect - but the plot is the real strength here; I knew there would be a twist, but I could not guess any of the several twists (except one) and this takes real skill, so I would use it for plotting a story and looking at what makes a good twist or surprise for the reader. 

Suitable for Upper KS2, Dragonborn is the start of what promises to be a fantastic adventure series, and I am already looking forward to the next instalment.

352 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+