Today in BookTalk: Reviews by Young Readers, I’m thrilled to have Nate Davis with us to talk about Susan Fletcher’s Middle Grade novel Ancient, Strange, and Lovely (The Dragon Chronicles). Welcome, Nate!
I’m Nate Davis and I like sports. In the summer, I especially like to wake board and wake surf. I also like playing my drums and reading. I like to read some autobiographies and some fiction stories. Some of my recent favorites are Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Review – Ancient, Strange, and Lovely (The Dragon Chronicles) by Susan Fletcher (Atheneum, 2010)
This book is full of action and adventure. It’s about a young girl trying to run away from poachers who are trying to get her baby dragon. Her mom went missing, and her dad went looking for her and disappeared. It’s a gripping story about how the girl tries to find her parents, and protect the baby dragon. It’s set in a world that’s been horribly polluted with chemicals. Saving the dragon could mean saving the world.
I liked it because the story kept moving forward and there was never a slow part. I was impressed by how much creativity and imagination went into the story. The world has its own music bands, and at the beginning of some of the chapters you see lyrics from those bands. There are some made up words, and even a new sort of clique, called “tants.” They are kids who have added webbing, maybe between their fingers or toes. Some even have it from an ear to their shoulder, or webs that make them look like flying squirrels. They do this because of the mutant children who were born deformed because of pollution.
Thanks for the review, Nate!!