About This Book:
*Review Contributed By Olivia Farr, Staff Reviewer*
engaging graphic novel
QUEST FOR THE TRUE DRAGON is an engaging graphic novel adventure. Grace is having dreams about her father and the need to wake the dragon kings, but she also just wishes that she could be a normal kid and not involved in this supernatural stuff. However, when her sister Aera calls with threats to a Dragon King and Dr. Kim unless Grace and Nate come to them, Grace feels caught. As she and her friends dive into danger once again, they will strengthen their relationships and resolves in order to save the day.
What I loved: This was a really engaging and relatable story. Grace is trying to find her place in this challenging world with normal kid stuff and her complicated connection with dragons seemingly in conflict. However, Grace is soon to learn about what really matters and the importance of the friendships she has. At the end of day, she knows what is important and will take steps towards figuring out who she is and who she wants to be.
The story has a good amount of tension, solving problems, and fighting to keep the readers on their toes. The plot is action-packed and the book moves very quickly. As a graphic novel, it does a great job of telling the story through both pictures and words. The speech bubbles were easily attributable and the panels easy to follow, which is great for middle grade graphic novel readers. Themes of family, found family/friendships, and finding your path make this an engaging and relatable story for middle grade readers.
What left me wanting more: As a small thing, some of the pages could be very wordy, which may work better for kids on the higher end of the middle grade age range. There are also things that were not well described and explained, though gained through context, that will also make this work best for older middle grade readers who can read between the lines as needed. It also helps to have read the earlier books before diving into this one.
Final verdict: QUEST FOR THE TRUE DRAGON is an action-packed middle grade graphic novel that will keep readers on their toes. Recommend for older middle grade readers.
