Dragon Mountain (Dragon Realm #1)

A high-interest read.

Gr 4-6--Katie and Kevin Tsang's (the team behind the "Sam Wu" series) first in a new middle grade fantasy trilogy offers readers a fast-paced plot and dragons, but without much substance. When 12-year-old California surfer Billy Chan gets sent to a language and culture summer camp in rural China, he has no idea he's in for the adventure of his life. Billy and three of his campmates discover four dragons who've been trapped in nearby Dragon Mountain, unable to defeat the dark magic that is destroying both the dragon and human realms. Billy and his friends must decide if they are willing to risk everything to help save both worlds. Readers will enjoy new dragon lore, such as each dragon having a heart that matches a human's. And most won't be able to resist the predictable cliffhanger at the end of each chapter. However, they may also find the characters one-dimensional and the plot full of unexplained conveniences. Most alarming is the abrupt end of the book just as the action starts to build. Readers will have to wait for the rest of the story in the second installment. VERDICT A sure pick for Tui T. Sutherland's "Wings of Fire" readers, and those who just need to get their hands on every dragon book out there.--Hillary Perelyubskiy, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

When 12-year-old San Franciscan Billy Chan is sent to summer camp in "middle-of-nowhere China" to explore his Chinese heritage and improve his Mandarin, he worries about being judged for his language skills, even though his father speaks Cantonese, not Mandarin. He's quickly grouped with three other kids: the enthusiastic Dylan O'Donnell, from Ireland; Charlotte Bell, an overachieving pageant winner from the American South; and enthusiastic Liu Ling-Fei, a local resident. During an early team-building competition, the quartet experiences mysterious phenomena that include a vanishing tiger, and later stumbles across the mountain's greatest secret: a cave of four dragons who say that the survival of dragon and human realms relies on a difficult-to-attain "dragon-human bond." As each of the four bonds with a dragon, receiving fantastical gifts and powers, Billy and his friends learn they must defeat the malevolent Dragon of Death once and for all. With this series opener, married cocreators the Tsangs (the Sam Wu is Not Afraid of... series) kick off an adventure inspired loosely by Chinese folklore and focusing on the power of friendship, loyalty, and skill. Fast-paced and engaging, this tale emphasizes adventure over complexity, easily appealing to a young audience. While the portrayals rely on stock archetypes, the characters have room to grow in future installments. Ages 8-12. Agent: Claire Wilson, RCW. (Oct.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"Dragon Mountain is a joy to read—adventurous and enchanting, with a heart of gold. It will make you relive the moment you first looked at the sky and longed to see a dragon looking back." —Samantha Shannon, international and New York Times best-selling author of Priory of the Orange Tree and The Bone Season series

"Brimming with warmth and originality, Dragon Mountain combines edge-of-your-seat adventure, laugh-out-loud humor, and hugely exciting dragons to create a sweeping fantasy that will captivate readers of all ages." —Catherine Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper's Island series

"Dragon Mountain has all of my favorite things! A rich mythology and a tale of friendship, snarky dragons, and daring deeds . . . this is the kind of breathless tale that leaves you hungry for the next installment." —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of Aru Shah and the End of Time