Janet Lee Carey. Dragon’s Keep
Harcourt Inc. $17.00  ISBN 978-0-15-205926-2  302 pg.
Reviewed by Melissa, Age 15

Bright fire. Dragon’s fire. Broken Sword. One black talon ends the war.” The rest of us joined in as we worked to unearth him.

Turn them into mincemeat. Bake them in the flame. Cut them up! Spit them out! Start the war again!”

Rosalind is destined to bring glory and peace to her Wilde Island. Six hundred years ago Merlin foretold her destiny that was written in the stars. She was to rule in glory as the twenty-first queen. But right now, as a princess of fourteen years this seems nothing but a fairy-tale. For every fairy-tale has a happy ending, and this does not seem possible when she is accursed. Her wedding finger is tainted, and instead of a rosy pink finger, it is that of a dragon’s; a hideous talon that is scaly blue-green. What madman would take her hand in marriage, and what village would take her as their queen if they knew of her nasty secret?

I have to say that this novel seems to be missing something. Perhaps it didn’t exactly pique my interest, although it is a well-written story. It is creative, and has plenty of emotion as well as action scenes. The characters are all loveable, and there are plenty of unexpected twists in the plot. Even the cover can pull the reader in with its mysterious darkness.

I would recommend this book for younger readers. It does have some mild violence.

With a younger reader in mind, this reviewer gives Dragon’s Keep four scaly stars.