Dragon's Bait
Vivian Vande Velde
MJF Books
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Young Alys's life falls apart when a spiteful neighbor accuses her of witchcraft. Friends become foes, her father dies suddenly from the shock, and the
entire town where she grew up turns their backs on her. Instead of the traditional stake-burning, however, the Inquisitor orders her chained out as bait for a dragon seen in
the area, killing two birds with one stone. Alys frees herself from her bonds, but, with nowhere to go, decides that death by dragon is better than the alternatives.
Oddly enough, the dragon doesn't want to eat her. Instead, he offers to help her get the one thing she truly wants anymore: revenge.
REVIEW: This is a short tale with a nice point about the merits of revenge. I liked it. The dragon was written as a dragon, not just a scaled human. Even when in his human manifestation, his actions, speech patterns and thought processes constantly remind the reader, and Alys, that this is not just another boy. I found the ending abrupt, but otherwise the story was enjoyable.
You might also enjoy:
Dragon's Keep (Janet Lee Carey, YA Fiction - A princess born with a dragon-claw finger faces the marauding dragons terrorizing her home)
The Dragonslayers (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Unlikely heroes venture forth to slay a dragon, created by a vengeful witch)
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy buys a dragon's egg at a magic shop)
The Tale of Despereaux (Kate DiCamillo, YA Fiction - The mouse Despereaux is ostracized from his own kind for un-mouselike courage)
The Tiger Rising (Kate DiCamillo, YA Fiction - A boy's grief and a girl's rage bind them to a captive tiger in the woods)
The Stoneheart trilogy (Charlie Fletcher, YA Fiction - After lashing out in anger at a stone dragon, a London boy is plunged into the invisible war between the statues and the gargoyles)
The Halfblood Chronicles (Mercedes Lackey, Fiction - From hiding, dragons amuse themselves by shapeshifting to play elaborate tricks on cruel elf-lords and their human slaves)
Bitterwood (James Maxey, Fiction - Dragons have enslaved mankind, but a vengeful dragonslayer's quest for retribution may only make matters worse)
Song for the Basilisk (Patricia A. McKillip, Fiction - Sole survivor of a noble house, a boy grows up vowing vengeance for his slain kin)
Dragonheart (Charles Edward Pogue, Fiction - An embittered dragonslayer must team up with the last living dragon to topple an evil king)
A College of Magics (Caroline Stevermer, YA Fiction - A teen girl, heiress to a small land, is shipped off to a school of magic, where a family rival awaits her)
Heroes of the Valley (Jonathan Stroud, YA Fiction - Raised on tales of his heroic ancestor, a boy attempts to avenge his uncle with disastrous results)
Voices of Dragons (Carrie Vaughn, YA Fiction - A teen girl befriends a young dragon while their races prepare for war)
Return to Top of Page - Return to Book Review List
Return to Brightdreamer Books Home
Brightdreamer Books is created and maintained by TBW, a.k.a. "Brightdreamer."
E-mail: tbweber AT comcast DOT net. (Remove spaces, replace AT with "@" and DOT with "." - please put "Brightdreamer Books" in the subject line, or your e-mail may be deleted as
spam! Thank you!