This series was first published over a decade ago, has been a New York Times Bestseller, and has had incredible staying power in popularity among young readers. Years ago, I had a nephew who adored the series and said the website should review it. It seems long overdue to add this title to our database.

Wow. I must say this book exceeded my expectations; I expected a simplistic middle grade fantasy. Instead, I discovered a nuanced array of characters, good writing, natural dialogue that felt “real”, an unhinged evil queen, and a plot that just kept going in the best possible of ways. Sutherland lays the groundwork for a complex political system and fantasy system with creativity around the different dragon species. Furthermore, there are strong themes around friendship, loyalty, and doing the right thing. Clay is particularly endearing in his fierce protection of his friends and his warm, forgiving nature. (Our world could use a few more people like Clay.)

There is so much great detail about the different dragons that it will have strong appeal to the elementary school ages. Additionally, the dragons are young and their dialogue will also feel authentic to these readers. If your young reader hasn’t discovered this series yet, then this one is a great option.

Review of the unabridged audiobook

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Most of the instances of violence are dragon-to-dragon. Report of war; dragon is caught and graphically killed in a brief scene; dragon egg is intentionally destroyed before it can hatch; reports of death; reference to injuries from past battles; training scene in which younger dragon is mercilessly trained and injuries are incurred in the course of the sparring; verbal threats; verbal remarks that are particularly cruel; dragons attack another in a brief scene, non-graphic and non-lethal; dragons overhear that a dragon is to be killed; dragon is cruelly chained; character encounters a poisonous substance and loses consciousness; dragons crash-land; fixing of a dislocated wing; dragon kills a human in a brief scene and bites it head off, description of blood running on the ground; dragon’s neck is snapped in front of younger dragons; dragons cruelly bound and imprisoned; extended gladiator scene in which dragons fight and one essentially kills itself rather than continue fighting; talk about fighting other dragons and killing other dragons; extended gladiator scene in which dragons battle to the death, some graphic description of injuries and death; details of violence are described in a trial scene; dragon takes a dragon to a great height and drops it to its death in front of onlookers; human eaten by a dragon; dragons eat and hunt animals for food; extended gladiator scene in which two dragons fight to the death, injuries, mention of blood, and one deliberately snaps the neck of another; scene in which dragons abruptly and without warning snap the necks of eight dragons who have no chance to defend themselves; dragons fight humans in a gladiator scene, resulting in the death of a couple, and injuries to both humans and dragons; dragon attacks another dragon, resulting in a very graphic melting of the other dragon–implied death; dragons pursue other dragons with intent to harm; dragons observe a battlefield with description of dead, bones, the smell, etc.

Sex/Nudity: Dragon tells another dragon that her markings are to help her attract a partner; dragon tells another that someone else likes them as more than a friend; dragons embrace (primarily in friendship, although one is implied to like the other as more than a friend).

Mature Subject Matter:

War; death; politics; imprisonment; prejudice; stereo-typing.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Reference to the use of poison.