Book Summary
From the award-winning author Wendy S. Swore, a contemporary middle-grade novel in the tradition of A Monster Like Me, in which two friends must solve the mystery of Liam's illness using their knowledge of fairy tales.
Something is wrong with Liam. He collapses during soccer practice, he can't stay awake in class, and he's starting to see a ghostly white fox that disappears into smoke. His parents and teachers accuse him of being lazy and staying up too late, but he knows it's something worse. He feels like he's disappearing bit by bit: his strength, his skills, his mind.
No one believes him except for Alaina, a friend and self-proclaimed expert in fantasy and fairy tales. She's seen this sort of thing before and believes Liam has been cursed with a powerful sleeping spell. Her journal is full of possible ways to break a curse--stand in a circle of salt, trick a troll, or wish on a falling star. Liam is skeptical, but with his normal life slipping farther away, he agrees to try her potential cures.
As they search for answers in stories, Alaina shares that she also is dealing with something no one else can see: type 1 diabetes. It rears its head like an invisible dragon, and she carries her medical equipment as a knight's lance and dragon-scale shield to battle it.
As Liam's mystery illness worsens, he will need Alaina's friendship--and perhaps a bit of fairy magic--to find a way to understand the truth of what is happening and regain the pieces of himself that are lost.
Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales is a story about finding courage in friendship with empathy, and how a powerful imagination can help someone get through hard times.
Book Details
- Publisher : Shadow Mountain (April 2, 2024)
- Genre: Middle-Grade Fiction
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1639932313
- ISBN-13 : 978-1639932313
- Reading age : 8 - 11 years
****I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, NetGalley, book tours, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.****
My Review
Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales offers a unique blend of fairy tales and reality.
The story follows two friends, Liam and Alaina, who both face health challenges, Liam's unknown at first. Using a school project on Fairy Tales, they explore possible solutions to Liam's issues. Alaina thinks that the idea of fairy tales and magic might hold real-life remedies for Liam's condition. Buried in books and stories, they have hope that maybe this could be the key to his recovery. Reflecting on her firsthand and courageous experience with Type 1 Diabetes, Alaina believes she can support Liam during this tough period. Many moments of heartache are spread throughout the book on their quest and their friendship goes through tremendous ups and downs.
Through its heartwarming narrative, this middle-grade novel teaches a valuable lesson on finding strength while dealing with adversity. Wendy S. Swore once again delivers a charming and thoughtful read for young audiences.
****Meet Author Wendy S. Swore****
Wendy S. Swore farms on the Sho-Ban reservation with a corn maze and pumpkin patch that is home to her five kids, two dogs, seven peacocks, eleven ducks, nineteen cats, and two hundred thirty seven chickens. She farms in the summers & writes in the winters.
Kids can write Wendy via the contact form at www.wendyswore.com or via social media:
@WendySwore on Twitter
@WendySwore on Instagram
@AuthorWendySwore on Facebook
Rep'd by Stacey Glick, Member SCBWI, Author of A Monster Like Me (March 2019) & The Wish And The Peacock (February 2020)
~*~*~*~*Purchase Spelling Spells~*~*~*~*
and Dragon Spells
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