THE DRUID AND THE DRAGON

A young girl must find the bravery within to save the kingdom.

Maeve has often gotten in trouble for being a daydreamer. Images go through her head of castles, kings, warriors, and dragons, but she never knew where these thoughts came from. The villagers in her small community think she is a simpleton except for Declan, the young Druid bard she meets at the market when she goes to sell eggs. When Declan introduces Maeve to Bradan, a seer who perceives Maeve’s daydreams more as visions, Bradan wants to help her develop her skills and reassures her that she is not foolish. Maeve is resistant until she meets Riasc Tiarna, a dragon that can communicate with Maeve through her thoughts and who lets her know that she is destined for a task that is extremely important—and she is the only one who can accomplish it. Maeve is stubborn and ornery at times, and her parents are abusive and mean, but insufficient characterization makes these traits feel foundationless. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding also lacks depth. The development of the chosen one trope doesn’t bring anything new to the genre but could be intriguing to young readers encountering it for the first time as the story comes to a satisfying end. All characters are cued as White.

A middling fantasy.