Michelle Knudsen paints a masterpiece in her debut work for young adult fantasy, The Dragon of Trelian. I loved everything about the book, with its well-crafted wit, moments of sorrow, and vivid descriptions of a bustling world, not to mention her quirky characters with their lively, but always believable thoughts.
I am always drawn to books such as these that pull you in until you are less reading them than experiencing everything they illustrate, and in this book you will experience magic, dragon-flight, and intrigue, alongside the more common but no less important—fear, love, friendship, and secrets.
The Dragon of Trelian is the tale of a princess named Meg and a mage’s apprentice named Calen brought together by the princess’s secret—a baby dragon found in the woods.
The setting is at Meg’s castle, just before the marriage of the princess’s older sister to the prince of a land that the people of Trelian had been at war with for a hundred years. Just when Meg is coming to terms with a mysterious and potentially dangerous connection with her swiftly growing dragon and settling into the idea of another married sister, the accidental discovery of an assassination plot leaves the fate of two kingdoms in the hands of a couple teenagers who might be a little short of time and resources….
How can you go wrong when each character has something about him or her that you can relate to—each with flaws and endearing features: the weight of royal expectations and a large family on Meg’s side, the freedom and loneliness of orphanhood in an uneventful apprenticeship on Calen’s, and all the characters in between, whether admirable or pitiable.
Therefore, I suggest this book to anyone and everyone, and I pray that Michelle Knudsen picks up her pen again and accepts the gauntlet that she so invitingly dropped at the end of The Dragon of Trelian.
I am always drawn to books such as these that pull you in until you are less reading them than experiencing everything they illustrate, and in this book you will experience magic, dragon-flight, and intrigue, alongside the more common but no less important—fear, love, friendship, and secrets.
The Dragon of Trelian is the tale of a princess named Meg and a mage’s apprentice named Calen brought together by the princess’s secret—a baby dragon found in the woods.
The setting is at Meg’s castle, just before the marriage of the princess’s older sister to the prince of a land that the people of Trelian had been at war with for a hundred years. Just when Meg is coming to terms with a mysterious and potentially dangerous connection with her swiftly growing dragon and settling into the idea of another married sister, the accidental discovery of an assassination plot leaves the fate of two kingdoms in the hands of a couple teenagers who might be a little short of time and resources….
How can you go wrong when each character has something about him or her that you can relate to—each with flaws and endearing features: the weight of royal expectations and a large family on Meg’s side, the freedom and loneliness of orphanhood in an uneventful apprenticeship on Calen’s, and all the characters in between, whether admirable or pitiable.
Therefore, I suggest this book to anyone and everyone, and I pray that Michelle Knudsen picks up her pen again and accepts the gauntlet that she so invitingly dropped at the end of The Dragon of Trelian.