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The Chronicles of Dixie Dugan #1
Dixie: World in the Well
Twelve-year-old Chance had always believed that his classmate, Dixie, was a shy, reclusive, redheaded wallflower. But a strange occurrence in class one afternoon made him wonder if perhaps she was something more. Maybe MUCH more. After school, he follows her as she walks from town into a neighboring woods, where she mysteriously disappears into an old abandoned well, only to be shot back out minutes later in a ball of hot, orange flames, cursing dragons. Dixie's initial anger at being spied upon eventually turns into an invitation to join her in her "World in the Well". Join Chance as he learns about Dixie's cuddly friends and deadly enemies, as well as about the girl, herself. At first, he believed that her claims of danger were greatly exaggerated. How could it be that dangerous if Dixie, a mere girl, survived there? But on his first day, he learned how wrong he had been, about the girl and about her world. The danger was very real. And it grew deadlier each day. Would he make it back home alive? Would Dixie? This story is fast-paced and tailored for younger readers, leaving out the parts that would often be skipped over by them anyway. It sets the stage for a series of longer tales of adventure, with new friends and deadlier foes.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 25, 2018
Great combination of an new world adventure with a bit of realistic adolescent humor and self reflection.
This is an exciting adventure that even though it's about a young girl is just as good of a read for a young boy. The style of writing is exciting and creates a colorful description everything that happens throughout the book. It also has enough humor in it to just keep you smiling throughout. I'm way past my adolescent years and loved it. Can't wait for book 2.
This is an exciting adventure that even though it's about a young girl is just as good of a read for a young boy. The style of writing is exciting and creates a colorful description everything that happens throughout the book. It also has enough humor in it to just keep you smiling throughout. I'm way past my adolescent years and loved it. Can't wait for book 2.
August 10, 2018
Dixie offers a unique approach to both young adult coming of age stories and portal fantasy. Rather than telling the story of a child finding themselves transported into a magical world and becoming a hero, Dixie is from the perspective of that hero’s—or rather, heroine’s—clueless friend.
Chance is a 12-year-old boy living in small-town America. One day in school, his life is upended when shy, wallflower Dixie uses magic to make everyone in the class forget about her. Except for some reason, Chance doesn’t forget.
He follows her after school into the nearby woods, only to come across an abandoned well. Minutes later, Dixie comes hurtling out of the well in a blast of fire. Dragons can be rather annoying like that.
This is Chance’s first introduction to Vahn, a magical world that can only be reached through the titular well. It’s full of dragons, wizards, lizard-men, and friendly chipmunk people.
And Dixie is its greatest warrior.
The decision to have Chance be the main character instead of Dixie was an interesting one. Instead of acting like a chosen warrior (a la Dixie), Chance reacts to the perils of Vahn the same way many of us would. He hides behind trees, runs away, and fumbles his way through actual fights. In contrast, Dixie is an amazing fighter and has a magical trick up her sleeve for just about everything.
Even when things get tough and Chance is forced to act more heroically, he stays true to his character. He still hesitates and runs, and those decisions have real consequences.
The book did suffer a bit from “debut syndrome.” The dialogue was slightly wooden, the plot was simplistic and a little cliché, and the main character sometimes flip-flopped drastically in his actions. Some of this was likely by design with the book’s young target audience, but it kept me from sitting back and letting the story pull me along.
Slight disclaimer: While the book is explicitly stated to be targeted towards a younger audience, there are occasional moments of graphic violence, including multiple beheadings.
All thing considered, Dixie was an enjoyable read. Where the writing fell short, the originality more than made up for it. I’m excited to see the direction the series takes now that the world has been established and future storylines hinted at.
Chance is a 12-year-old boy living in small-town America. One day in school, his life is upended when shy, wallflower Dixie uses magic to make everyone in the class forget about her. Except for some reason, Chance doesn’t forget.
He follows her after school into the nearby woods, only to come across an abandoned well. Minutes later, Dixie comes hurtling out of the well in a blast of fire. Dragons can be rather annoying like that.
This is Chance’s first introduction to Vahn, a magical world that can only be reached through the titular well. It’s full of dragons, wizards, lizard-men, and friendly chipmunk people.
And Dixie is its greatest warrior.
The decision to have Chance be the main character instead of Dixie was an interesting one. Instead of acting like a chosen warrior (a la Dixie), Chance reacts to the perils of Vahn the same way many of us would. He hides behind trees, runs away, and fumbles his way through actual fights. In contrast, Dixie is an amazing fighter and has a magical trick up her sleeve for just about everything.
Even when things get tough and Chance is forced to act more heroically, he stays true to his character. He still hesitates and runs, and those decisions have real consequences.
The book did suffer a bit from “debut syndrome.” The dialogue was slightly wooden, the plot was simplistic and a little cliché, and the main character sometimes flip-flopped drastically in his actions. Some of this was likely by design with the book’s young target audience, but it kept me from sitting back and letting the story pull me along.
Slight disclaimer: While the book is explicitly stated to be targeted towards a younger audience, there are occasional moments of graphic violence, including multiple beheadings.
All thing considered, Dixie was an enjoyable read. Where the writing fell short, the originality more than made up for it. I’m excited to see the direction the series takes now that the world has been established and future storylines hinted at.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews