(Cover picture courtesy of Great Books by Doshisha International Readers.)

There is a fire star coming, signalling a time of new beginnings.  A time for dragons to rise again.

A research trip to the Arctic and a contract for a new book—life can’t get much better for David Rain.  But as soon as David finds himself in the icy climes, he begins to write his legend of bears, dragons, and the mysterious fire star.  Soon he realizes that his tale is beginning to mirror real life, and that an old enemy is on her way to meet him.  Can David thwart her terrible plan?  Or will his world be destroyed forever?

After hinting at it in the first book and explaining a little bit in the second book, Chris d’Lacey finally gives readers a full explanation about the origin of dragons—both the clay kind and the real ones.  As it turns out, Liz Pennykettle was hiding quite a few things from both David, her tenant, and Lucy, her own daughter.  This time, it’s going to cost her dearly as the scheming Gwilanna returns, with one thing on her mind: returning dragons to the world.

The thing I like most about Fire Star is how much depth the characters have.  We see David behaving more like a college student now that he’s temporarily out of the Pennykettle house and around Zanna, the quirky goth girl he loves.  Their relationship is believable, but it’s also unusual because they seem to be complete opposites.  This definitely makes for weird chemistry, but it works very well.

Filled with plot twists and turns, especially at the end, Fire Star is—to use the cliché—absolutely riveting.  It’s surprisingly fast-paced for a children’s novel, which makes it an enjoyable read for both children and tweens.  I would definitely recommend it.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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