A Darkening of Dragons (Songs of Magic #1)

by S a Patrick (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Songs of Magic

13-year old piper Patch Brightwater is a boy in disgrace. Thrown in jail for playing a forbidden spell, he is no one's idea of a hero. But then he discovers a deadly truth - the evil Piper of Hamelyn is on the loose.

With the help of Wren, a girl cursed to live as a rat, and Barver, a fire-breathing dracogriff, Patch must stop the Piper from sparking the biggest battle of them all.  S.A. Patrick's debut children's novel is a vivid retelling of one of the darkest legends of all time - the Piper of Hamelyn. Combining fairy tale lore with the very best of modern storytelling and empowerment,

A Darkening of Dragons takes fantasy fans on a journey filled with adventure, magic, and the delight of finding friends in unexpected places.

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Kirkus

Fans of epic, worldbuilding fantasy will find this lengthy narrative worth the trip.

ALA/Booklist

 It is by turns dark and funny, and the interspecies friendships ring warm and true.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7--Patrick presents an extended version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin tale in this British series import. This version takes place 10 years after the Piper of "Hamelyn" was imprisoned by eight members of the Pipers' Council for using his pipers' training to make both children and young dragons vanish, nearly causing a war with the Dragon Territories. The past seems to be repeating itself when Patch, a disgraced student of the piping school at Tiviscan Castle, is imprisoned for 510 years after using the same dance tune to earn food and shelter. Patch finds unlikely friends in Wren, a girl who has been cursed into a rat, and the dracogriff Barver, whose impressive battle techniques help them out of numerous scrapes. Patch and his friends uncover clues to Hamelyn's motivations that lead to further adventures. Except for gender and age, no characters are given physical descriptions, including skin tones. Patrick's story is told in third-person limited, usually from Patch's point of view, but occasionally from Wren's. Patch's escapades seem to telescope one out of another, introducing more places like an abbey and a witch's hut where Hamelyn's old adversaries now dwell, and the castle where Underath the sorcerer cursed Wren. Despite the ever-expanding Piper world, the story stays focused on Patch, Wren, and Barker. VERDICT An engaging fairy-tale adventure that would pair well with Jessica Khoury's "The Mystwick School of Musicraft" series. Suitable for most libraries.--Caitlin Augusta

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



S a Patrick
Seth Alan Patrick was born in Belfast. When he was a child, he wanted to write video games, become an author, and have magical powers. The first two came true. If he ever does get magical powers, he hopes people like dragons and griffins because there'll suddenly be a lot of them around. A Darkening of Dragons is his first book for children.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781682635216
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Peachtree Publishers
Publication date
March 14, 2023
Series
Songs of Magic
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV002270 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
-
A Carnegie Medal nominee

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