Review by Booklist Review
Miss Evangeline Alexander, a blossoming chemist, has a penchant for anything volatile. She does her best to keep her experiments under control, but when her father grants her a gift for her twelfth birthday, she acquires a strange piece from the back of a jeweler's office, certain to make her a famed scientist. Dusty, on the other hand, just wants to be free of the King's Navy. His induction into the Thieves' Union is his ticket out, as soon as he completes his first assignment: to steal a mysterious silver object from a certain Miss Eva. Meanwhile, Eoin Parnassus, Director of Kingdom Secrets, is leaving no stone unturned--including the mattresses of the Young Ladies' Royal Academy of Science and Mathematics--until he finds the missing egg of an aerimander, a supposedly extinct dragon-like creature. The most deadly, most powerful weapon on royal record, a living aerimander could finally put an end to the war with the Free Territories--unless it falls into the wrong hands. Wielding a brilliant and diverse cast of characters in this multi-POV story, Dodd offers a fresh and moving take on political hierarchies, with the pace of a thriller. The seamless integration of scientific principles and magical theory, reminiscent of The Golden Compass, will leave readers inspired to persevere in dark times. A fiery opening to what promises to be an epic series.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A private school student and an orphaned errand boy embark on a gripping adventure in Dodd's confident and fiercely thought-provoking debut. Twelve-year-old science-obsessed Eva's heretofore sheltered life is thrown into chaos after she's unknowingly given a pilfered egg from a presumed-extinct, dragonlike race of creatures called aerimanders. Attracting the attention of Eoin Parnassus--a "simple man of pure evil," who wants the unhatched aerimanders for destructive militaristic purposes--Eva hides the egg and decides to consult a scientist. Enter orphaned 13-year-old Dusty, a seasoned thief who attempts to swipe the egg from Eva's boarding school dorm room only to end up absconding with both egg and girl. The unwilling duo bonds over their ill-gotten ovum, and races to uncover its secret before it falls into malevolent hands. Utilizing a dry-humored omniscient narrator, Dodd admirably balances expert worldbuilding with a rip-roaring plot and complicated character interactions that crackle with witty buoyancy. Themes of queer identity, wealth disparity, and moral philosophy are threaded throughout this incendiary fantasy adventure. Eva has "deep copper-brown skin"; Dusty is "fair skinned." Ages 10--14. (Nov.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
What do an orphan who delivers milk and a high-society science whiz have in common? Possibly the destruction of the entire Kingdom of Glaucus, if some are to be believed. When Eva Alexander turns 12, her wealthy father allows her to choose something from the upscale Bronsworth's Department Store. Although he was thinking of jewelry, Eva chooses what she thinks is an egg-shaped piece of rubibium, a "highly unstable explosive" substance that fascinates her chemistry-minded brain. In a less-savory part of Porttown, 13-year-old Dusty, who resides at St. Ichabod's Dairy Production and Home for Delinquent Boys, is tasked by the Thieves' Union with finding Eva's gift. The two are on a collision course that involves testing a friendship, traversing a secret dungeon, and nearly blowing up a cryptoecologist (a scientist who believes that many legendary creatures are real). All that for a mineral? Of course not--it's all about the egg of an aerimander, a dragonlike creature that's supposed to be extinct. Dodd's debut novel is fantasy done right: Fans ofThe Princess Bride and Terry Pratchett's work will devour this series opener, thanks to the lush worldbuilding and wry humor permeating every page. And while the story will have readers grinning, it still explores difficult topics like poverty and war with grace and dignity. Eva is a queer girl with "deep copper-brown skin" and wavy black hair. "Spindly" Dusty is pale and freckled. Egg-cellent storytelling; readers will be eager for the second book.(Fantasy. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
