For two years, Cyrus
and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older
brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man
with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room. Less than
24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is
missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall,
swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as
caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost
civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized
the world for millennia. (Goodreads)
Emily, bibliophile and eternal student
When I first read this book, I thought it was good, and that I could stand to read it again, because admittedly I didn't feel that I had understood everything about it.
I am now convinced that this is one of those books that you go back to, year after year, that grow with you and teach you something different every time.
Also, it's a ripping good yarn.
There are so many things I love about this book that it's hard to pick just a few, but I'll try anyway.
First, the siblings, Daniel, Antigone, and Cyrus Smith. They needle each other. They argue and tease and terrify one another, but they stick together, and they undoubtedly love one another in a way that only siblings can.
Second, the story. Cyrus Smith is an impetuous 12-year-old boy who makes many mistakes, and makes things worse when he tries to fix them. He's given an ancient artifact by a man named Billy Bones - a shard of a dragon's tooth. Cyrus is thrust into a world where some myths still walk the earth and many nightmares are real. He and his sister Antigone must find their missing brother Daniel, and to do that they must complete a set of impossible tasks without allies, guidance, or assets, and survive the attacks of those who covet the dragon's tooth.
Of course, there are many other things that I love about these books - the descriptions, the names, the clever weaving of old myths and new imagination, to name just a few - but instead of wasting time reading this review, I urge you to go read THE DRAGON'S TOOTH.
Market: Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy
Emily, bibliophile and eternal student
When I first read this book, I thought it was good, and that I could stand to read it again, because admittedly I didn't feel that I had understood everything about it.
I am now convinced that this is one of those books that you go back to, year after year, that grow with you and teach you something different every time.
Also, it's a ripping good yarn.
There are so many things I love about this book that it's hard to pick just a few, but I'll try anyway.
First, the siblings, Daniel, Antigone, and Cyrus Smith. They needle each other. They argue and tease and terrify one another, but they stick together, and they undoubtedly love one another in a way that only siblings can.
Second, the story. Cyrus Smith is an impetuous 12-year-old boy who makes many mistakes, and makes things worse when he tries to fix them. He's given an ancient artifact by a man named Billy Bones - a shard of a dragon's tooth. Cyrus is thrust into a world where some myths still walk the earth and many nightmares are real. He and his sister Antigone must find their missing brother Daniel, and to do that they must complete a set of impossible tasks without allies, guidance, or assets, and survive the attacks of those who covet the dragon's tooth.
Of course, there are many other things that I love about these books - the descriptions, the names, the clever weaving of old myths and new imagination, to name just a few - but instead of wasting time reading this review, I urge you to go read THE DRAGON'S TOOTH.
Market: Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy
Language: Mild
Sensuality: None
Violence:
Considerable, but not horribly graphic.
Mature Themes: death,
involuntary parental absence, the true nature of good and evil.