Lightningborn: (Storm Dragons, Book 1)

by Julie Kagawa

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Mashing together dragons, sky pirates and young heroics, this is a page-turning adventure buoyed by humor and heart. If you loved Wings of Fire and want more dragons in your life, look no further. This is it.

In a world in the clouds where only the rich own dragons, a poor boy named Remy finds a wild baby dragon—believed to be extinct—and becomes the focus of an evil pirate’s vengeance.

REMY spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge—one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep, and he feels a bond he has never felt with anyone. Remy names the dragon Storm and vows to protect this new friend, no matter the cost.

GEM longs for the day when she call herself a true mage. That is, if she can convince her teachers and peers that just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean she’s lazy and spoiled. But when Gem learns that the floating islands that make up her kingdom are rapidly sinking into the Maelstrom, she makes it her mission to save her world. Against the king’s wishes, she accesses forbidden research and discovers the secret to saving humanity may lie in a True Dragon—a dragon capable of intelligent thought and able to cast and use magic. But True Dragons are extinct . . . aren’t they?

Remy’s and Gem’s lives will never be the same when their fates collide, thanks to Storm. With an evil pirate mage named Jhaeros determined to claim the rare dragon for himself, the two must learn to trust in each other as they team up with a shifty pirate captain and her crew, stand together against impossible odds, and embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368090308
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Series:	Storm Dragon , #1
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	87,874
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times best-selling author of the Iron Fey, Blood of Eden, Talon, and Shadow of the Fox series, was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there, so at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii—which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of huge geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel. Julie now lives in North Carolina with her husband, two obnoxious cats, and a pair of Australian shepherds. She loves video games, and has recently started streaming on Twitch and putting out videos on YouTube. Visit her on Twitter @JKagawa, Twitch @SylverKit, and on YouTube @JulieKagawa.

Editorial Reviews

01/29/2024

Ever since the Shattering many millennia ago, people have survived traveling by dragons and sky ships between myriad islands magically floating above the all-consuming Maelstrom. Twelve-year-old Remy, a “skinny, mop-haired street urchin,” lives on the tiny pirate haven of Cutthroat Wedge, dreaming of but never expecting a chance to leave. During a tempest, he discovers an extraordinarily rare dragon hatchling, which he names Storm. But ruthless pirate captain Jhaeros is looking for the hatchling, placing Remy in great danger. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Princess Gem, a storm-mage-in-training, learns that the magic crystals that keep the islands aloft are failing, heralding certain doom for the kingdom. Against the king’s wishes, Gem embarks on a mission to seek out the powerful, rumored-extinct Ancient Ones of legend, who might be able to restore the crystals’ power. When the tweens’ paths cross, they must work together to protect Storm and save the kingdom. In this invigorating trilogy opener, Kagawa (the Iron Fey series) conjures an atmospheric setting populated by eclectic characters and fanciful creatures and employs Remy and Gem’s alternating perspectives to skillfully balance personal and epic stakes, coalescing into a captivating dynamic that is enhanced by their respective dragon companions. Ages 8–12. Agent: Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2024

Gr 3–6—In a land made of floating islands, there is a 12-year-old princess, Gem, who flies on a beautiful white dragon and whose silver streak in her black hair marks her as a storm mage. In this same system of islands, floating over the dangerous, scary, unending Maelstrom, lives Remy, a "mud rat" with "mud-colored hair, mud-colored eyes" who has nothing in the world, not even parents, and who dreams of dragons. In alternating chapters, Gem and Remy's stories inch closer together as Remy discovers a baby dragon and Gem realizes that the only way to save her father's kingdom is to embark on a solo quest to find the Ancients. They both need the help of Crusty Bart, former sky knight and the only human alive to have interacted with the True Dragons—sentient dragons who possess infinite magic. Falling in with sky pirates might be a bad move, but Remy must save his dragon and Gem must save the sky knight so they have no choice but to trust Captain Cutlass and her crew as they go after the most dangerous captain and mage in the most dangerous part of their world: the Vortex. This fantasy series debut has everything that readers could want: magic, used for both good and ill; dragons; a quest; a rebellious and brave princess; life-and-death adventure; and a cliffhanger ending. The writing occasionally feels stilted, but is written at an age-appropriate level, and the worldbuilding creates a very clear picture of this land. The plot moves along at an exciting clip and will keep readers turning pages. VERDICT This is a sure hit for fantasy fans, specifically those who love dragons and rollicking adventure. Highly recommended.—Clare A. Dombrowski

School Library Journal

2024-01-05
Two young people’s lives collide as they try to save one baby dragon—and an entire kingdom.

Life on the streets of Cutthroat Wedge, an island in the floating kingdom of Gallecia, is hard for orphaned Remy; he must steal to eat, and his only real company is an old man named Bart, who drinks in the tavern and is full of wild stories of adventure and dragons, a luxury that these days only the ultra-wealthy can afford. Meanwhile, Princess Gem is chafing against her school’s restrictions of her storm mage powers. She’s determined to save Gallecia, which she’s just discovered is rapidly sinking into the Maelstrom, the mysterious magic-giving storm holding the islands aloft. After a strange storm, Remy finds a baby dragon who’s being hunted by the ruthless pirate Jhaeros. Turning to Bart for help sets him on a collision course with Gem’s search for the missing Sir Bartello Axtell, who knows how to find the Ancients that can save their world. This first series entry evenly balances worldbuilding with action and suspense. The comfortably familiar dragons, pirates, and knights exist in an exciting and physically dangerous airborne environment. Both Gem and Remy are steadfast in their convictions and highly sympathetic despite their differences in background, education, and personality. The emotional hook is set with this volume: Readers will feel compelled to seek out the next installment. Characters are minimally described and racially ambiguous.

Swashbuckling abounds in this fun-filled series opener. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews