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A review by nina_reads_books
Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee
5.0
Take a look at the beautiful hard cover on the latest book by @karenfoxleeauthor! Her last book Lenny’s Book of Everything was one of my favourite books of 2019 so I was very excited to see Dragon Skin had been released.
Blending fantasy and real life, Dragon Skin is an allegorical tale of sadness and friendship but ultimately courage. Ten year old Pip is grieving the death of her best friend Mika. She is also living with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend who treats them both badly. She spends her time hanging out by the waterhole and it is there one evening she finds a baby dragon and resolves to save him.
Karen Foxlee writes from the POV of a young child so well. The way childhood and friendship was written was poignant and authentic. Pip and Mika had the most innocent and sweet relationship. The writing is also very visually descriptive. The waterhole and the cave that are Pip's refuges are described so beautifully. The storyline of the baby dragon and Pip’s efforts to feed it and protect it with the help of some friends was fantastical and I loved that the saving of the dragon allowed Pip to dig deep and rescue herself.
Dragon Skin is an absolutely stunning book to hold. The hard cover and beautifully illustrated cover design are incredible. While it didn't have quite the same impact on me as Lenny's Book of Everything (oh the waterworks I had reading that!) it was still an absolutely engaging, sad and wondrous example of middle grade fiction. Highly recommend for the kids in your lives or for those of us who still love to immerse ourselves in stories that remind us of our childhood!
Huge thanks to the kind people @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy. This was such a highly anticipated read for me!
Blending fantasy and real life, Dragon Skin is an allegorical tale of sadness and friendship but ultimately courage. Ten year old Pip is grieving the death of her best friend Mika. She is also living with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend who treats them both badly. She spends her time hanging out by the waterhole and it is there one evening she finds a baby dragon and resolves to save him.
Karen Foxlee writes from the POV of a young child so well. The way childhood and friendship was written was poignant and authentic. Pip and Mika had the most innocent and sweet relationship. The writing is also very visually descriptive. The waterhole and the cave that are Pip's refuges are described so beautifully. The storyline of the baby dragon and Pip’s efforts to feed it and protect it with the help of some friends was fantastical and I loved that the saving of the dragon allowed Pip to dig deep and rescue herself.
Dragon Skin is an absolutely stunning book to hold. The hard cover and beautifully illustrated cover design are incredible. While it didn't have quite the same impact on me as Lenny's Book of Everything (oh the waterworks I had reading that!) it was still an absolutely engaging, sad and wondrous example of middle grade fiction. Highly recommend for the kids in your lives or for those of us who still love to immerse ourselves in stories that remind us of our childhood!
Huge thanks to the kind people @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy. This was such a highly anticipated read for me!