Dragon's Green

Description

After the worldquake, magic is seeping into our world Effie Truelove is a new pupil at the Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange, with its twisted grey spires and an English teacher so frightening she gives the class nightmares. When her beloved grandfather is brutally attacked, Effie promises to look after his magical books. But then shady book-collector Leonard Levar gets his hands on them and Effie has to embark on the most dangerous adventure of her life... Effie must travel to the mysterious Otherworld, unlock the hidden meaning of an old book called Dragon's Green, and brave the terrifying Diberi, a secret organisation with plans that could destroy the entire universe. But Effie can't face the Diberi alone. Can her new school-friends Maximilian, Wolf, Lexy and Raven combine their gifts and discover their true powers in time?

Scarlett Thomas has always loved stories, magic and mysterious places. She tried (and failed) to write her first novel when she was six. Since then she has successfully written lots of novels, but this is her first one for children. She lives near the sea in an old house full of books, and is a professor in the English department of the University of Kent. Dragon's Green is the first volume in the Worldquake Sequence.

The most exciting debut in children's fiction since HARRY POTTER. Immersive, engaging, original; delightful in its details (a bun shop that serves as a portal to Otherworld; a library of Last Editions; a Princess School in which girls are trained to be appealing to dragons); playful, warm and yet thrilling, too -- JOANNE HARRIS An entrancing novel that stands on its prose . . . set in a dystopian future after a massive quake has annihilated modern technology . . . She is far too inventive a writer ever to let us feel we've been here before * * Daily Telegraph * * This tale of magical education is a cracker . . . has its own distinctive style * * Guardian * * Superb fantasy ***** * * Sunday Telegraph * * Lively, inventive, phrase-making fantasy . . . revels in evocative spells, names and descriptions of quaint shops, fabulous food and delicious interiors . . . has something of J.K. Rowling's capacity to delight * * Sunday Times * * Otherworldly . . . 'Getting lost in a book' takes on new meaning * * Mail on Sunday * * In this children's debut from adult fantasy writer Thomas, a young girl inherits a magical library and discovers you can - quite literally - become lost in a book . . . The first book in the Worldquake Sequence augurs well for what is to follow * * Sunday Post * * Full of surprises . . . Spells. Wands. Portals. A child marked out for greatness . . . Effie and her friends, rugby-mad Wolf and swotty Max, are cooler and funnier than anyone at Hogwarts as they rush around trying to collect magical artefacts. In a plot turning on the theft of a library where the chief villain is a book dealer, the real magic, Thomas insists, lies in literature itself * * Financial Times * * Will whisk you off on a spectacular adventure * * The Week * * Deft and stylish . . . Packed with striking images . . . the exciting pace will make this a gleeful companion for many a young teen and upwards * * Literary Review * * One of the best fantasy books in my lifetime -- Stuart Kelly * * Scotsman * * 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 * * Kirkus * * An enthralling tale, set in a sprawling world that swallowed me whole -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of THE GIRL OF INK & STARS A magical adventure that fizzes and crackles with enchantment. I was absolutely bedazzled -- HILARY McKAY Lovely fantasy . . . Manages to be both unusual and traditional simultaneously, as well as entirely gripping and beautifully written -- PHILIP WOMACK * * Books for Keeps, Books of the Year 2017 * * Gorgeous and funny - and a lovely celebration of the magic of books! -- Helen Falconer, author of THE CHANGELING PRAISE FOR OTHER BOOKS BY SCARLETT THOMAS: Ingenious and original. . . A cracking good yarn fizzing with intelligence -- PHILIP PULLMAN Entrancing . . . one of the sharpest fantasies I've encountered -- NEIL GAIMAN