Shadow Scale

Gr 7 Up—This sequel to the award-winning Seraphina (Random, 2012) takes the half-human, half-dragon girl on a search for others like herself. The revelation of Seraphina's true heritage has placed her in a position of power with Queen Glisselda who sends her on a mission to find other half-human/half-dragon beings. With her loyal friend, Abdo, she searches the lands for the creatures she has only met previously in dreams, in the hopes that they may trip the balance of power toward the kingdom of Goredd. Though the halflings were feared and reviled by the human population historically, some of them managed to hide in plain sight and were elevated to sainthood. With the insane Jannoula as their leader, these long-lived beings have emerged from hiding and are bent on taking control of Goredd and its human population. And, the love she and the Queen's intended, Kiggs, have for each other may ultimately destroy any chance Seraphina has for personal happiness. This is not a stand-alone story, and those who haven't read the first novel in the series will spend the first third of the novel getting caught up. By then, it may be too late for some, as the lengthy work suffered from an over-abundance of explanation of who the dragons were without really giving readers a sense of the main characters' ideals and motivations. Still, for lovers of Christopher Paolini's and Anne McCaffrey's dragon stories, this is an adequate addition to dragonlore.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK