Dragon's Green

March 1, 2017
This series opener introduces "unprepossessing eleven-year-old" Effie Truelove and her classmates at Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange who discover their magical powers trying to rescue some special books.Living in the post-worldquake era, white Effie hangs out with her grandfather Griffin Truelove, a scholar of magic, who recently started introducing her to "magical thinking." Close to death, Griffin leaves Effie a ring, his magical objects, and his library, warning her to protect the books, find Dragon's Green, and stop the Diberi. Effie's clueless, but wearing Griffin's ring gives her unusual strength. Outraged when her father sells Griffin's library to a sinister book dealer, Effie salvages a book called Dragon's Green, which literally transports her to the Otherworld, where she learns she's a True Hero. Determined to save the books, Effie enlists four of her classmates after empowering each with one of Griffin's magical objects, unleashing their skills as mage, warrior, healer, and witch. In vivid, inviting prose, Thomas deftly evokes an original, intriguing post-technological Earth looming with evil where "books are magic" and memorable misfits become heroes. A compelling new fantasy series with an unlikely heroine, quirky helpers, dragons, portals, witches, and wizards. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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May 1, 2017

Gr 4-7-Does magic exist? Euphemia (Effie) Truelove, a student from the Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled, and Strange, discovers that her destiny is to find the answer. Effie's eccentric grandfather, Griffin, hints that magic exists, but he is banned from using it. When Griffin begins to teach Effie about magical thinking, he mysteriously dies. A silver ring and drawstring pouch full of trinkets belonging to her grandfather are secretly passed to her by the hospital staff. Excited to inherit her grandfather's unusual library of magical books, Effie realizes that she's been duped out of ownership by an unscrupulous man named Leonard Levar. Knowing she must retrieve her grandfather's magical library, she undertakes an extraordinary adventure full of intrigue and magical quests. The story lags a little in the middle, but there are many fun and endearing moments, magical wonder, new experiences, and rabbit holes along the way. VERDICT Recommended for readers looking for fantasy, magic, and a new world to explore.-Robyn Gioia, Seoul American Elementary School, Seoul, Korea

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
Grades 5-8 Find Dragon's Green. These are Effie Truelove's grandfather's ominous last words. But where to even start? Effie's grandfather was of the magic variety, but Effie's father refused to allow Effie's grandfather to discuss anything related to magic. Left with only grief and anger, Effie sets out to retrieve her grandfather's books and possessions, the keys to her quest. Of course, her father (who has refused to discuss magic since his wife disappeared in the worldquake ) doesn't understand the urgency of the search, and forces her back into school, where some unexpected friends became important allies. Maximilian, Wolf, and Effie, with the help of her grandfather's magical boons, embark on a epic adventure to figure out the garbled clues of her grandfather's final request. Filled with fantastical events and flourishes of intricate detail, this middle-grade series starter is tailor-made for Harry Potters fans: it features an array of unique and likable characters aiding a hero in an adventure of a lifetime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)