The book I read was called The Rise of the Dragon written by Angie Sage. Its main theme is that every individual is different, no matter how they seem. For example, the dragon named Bellacrux, who was the grand dragon of the Raptors, is actually trying to destroy the Raptors. This is ironic and funny at the same time. Joss might have seemed like a traitor, but in reality, he was forced and had no choice. Later in the book, he escapes, and proves that he is no traitor, and instead has been loyal to his sister and his belief.
The story starts with an evil group of dragons, known as the Raptors, losing a very valuable egg. Two kids, Joss and Allie, find the egg, and raise the dragon inside up. At the same time, another girl, whose name is Sirin and lives in London, loses her mother and her cat. She is the only one who believes in dragons, since her mother had a dragonstone. Meanwhile, the two kids in the other dimension get captured by the Raptors, and learn that their dragon has the ability to travel between dimensions. Joss gets adopted due to the fact that he has a close connection with the dragon, and Allie gets pushed into a pit with the strongest and scariest dragon, Bellacrux, and unbelievably, Allie develops a close connection to Bellacrux, and with the help of Joss, run away from the Raptors with a baby. Unfortunately, Bellacrux was not able to go through the portal between the two worlds, and she decides to guard the place that they last left for the rest of her life. While Joss and Allie travel through this other dimension, they find Sirin, who was getting chased by girls with knives; they rescue her, and she bonds with the baby dragon that Joss and Allie bring along.
I felt that the book was a bit too passive. First off, the final “epic” battle between the Raptors and Bellacrux didn’t have enough characters. On Bellacrux’s side, they could have rescued more dragons, which would further demonetize the Raptors and make them have a bigger problem instead of only rescuing one of them. On the Raptor’s side, they should have brought along more dragons, seeing that they are the most feared group of dragons in their whole world. I was honestly expecting a much bigger battle, being more dramatic and have a lot more casualties. Instead, there were about 5 dead dragons, and a completely one-sided fight. Despite the fact that the Raptors were better arms, they were demolished. Also, the rising action was way too long. The capture of Joss and Allie by the Raptors was only there after 17 long chapters. But, the book has some good parts as well, like its vocabulary. I really liked the word choice used by the author. She used some high-level words and made the book more descriptive. I also thought that it had some okay action, and I found the book very funny. I felt that the funniest part was when one of the humans rode Joss’s dragon. Joss’s dragon threw his rider into the poop pit, and the rider was completely covered in a smelly substance. I understand that this book is the first book in a new series, and I really feel that is was pretty good for a book this recent.
Overall, I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5. I would recommend this to any kids younger than 12 and ones who want to read a book without too much action. Her book has good vocabulary, a simple plot, and funny toilet humor, which is perfect for young kids. Although this book was a bit bland, I still look forward to reading her next book.