Review Detail

What I Liked: This is a unique Middle-Grade fiction. The gritty city of Drakopolis where humans work alongside Dragons and the gangs are the true power of the city makes for an intense high-stakes story full of suspense and danger. Abel is a middle-schooler who is torn between his dragon thief sister who is in the Kinner gang, Sky Knights, and his brother who is secret police trying to find her. Both force him into dangerous decisions where he must secure a low-priced dragon and infiltrate the illegal races of the gangs and help both meet their objective. All the while he is struggling with his own conscience to discover who he is and what he stands for and not die trying to navigate all three objectives.
The danger is intense and the high-speed dragon chases are sure to keep a reader engaged and turning pages. I like the gentler moments as well where Abel and his friends show loyalty and bravery as they navigate through Abel’s dilemmas together. I like that his parents know something is happening and want Abel to know that he can come to them but try to give him the space to decide he wants their help. His parents are gems. I love that once they find out, they don’t stop him, but find the best way to help him succeed and stay alive in the process. There are laugh-out-loud interactions where the character’s personalities shine through making this a realistic story in a story full of dragons and high-speed antics. The author even manages to sneak some advanced vocabulary into the story so that readers are learning at the same time. (Always a plus with teachers and parents!)
Final Verdict: This was a great addition to the series. The resolution to their dilemma has piqued my curiosity because it could serve as an ending to the series, but I know a sequel publishes in a few months so I wonder how it will continue with such a change in the current dynamic under which the family has been working. Abel seems to have a unique relationship with the dragons which also begs the question of how much they understand. I wonder if the chaos Abel brings will ultimately change the dynamics of the political landscape between the gangs and the government and people and the dragons.