In the Time of Dragon Moon

Gr 8 Up—Uma has always had difficulty finding acceptance within the Euit tribe in which she has grown up. Her father is the Adan, the Euit tribal healer, but her mother is an English midwife. Uma serves as her father's apprentice and dreams of succeeding him as Adan one day, but Euit tribal law forbids a woman as a healer. When English soldiers invade the village and abduct her father, Uma is taken with him to the royal court at Pendragon Castle, where her father is commanded to provide a cure for the queen's infertility on pain of death. When she becomes the queen's designated healer, Uma is soon embroiled in deadly court intrigues involving dragons and the fey folk. She also finds herself involved with Jackrun, a Pendragon prince who is part dragon and struggles to control the fire within him. Together, Uma and Jackrun must discover the perpetrator of a political murder and reconcile the warring factions within the kingdom, even as they reconcile their own divided natures. Set in the same world as Carey's Dragon's Keep (Harcourt, 2007) and Dragonswood(Dial, 2012), this title can be read independently, but knowledge of events in the previous books would be helpful. The author's world-building is detailed and fascinating, and Uma is a strong, admirable heroine. This is a must-purchase for libraries owning the earlier installments and a great choice for where teen fantasy is popular.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ