Dragons vs. Drones - Hardcover

After discovering that his first career choice, Jedi, was somewhat impractical (for now), Wesley King moved on to his second option: fiction author. While he lives in suburban Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, he spends most of his time in the imagined universes of superpowered children, dying stars, and magical fantasy realms. His first novel, The Vindico, won a Red Maple Award, and he has twice been a Junior Library Guild Official Selection. He travels the rolling Canadian countryside speaking to schools and conducting literacy workshops, especially aimed at getting boys to read and write. You can like him on Facebook at the Wesley King fan page, follow him on Twitter @WesleyTKing, or check out his website at www.wesleytking.com.

Gr 4–7—Marcus's father disappeared without a trace eight years ago while working for the CIA. He was quickly branded a traitor, causing heartache and isolation for his young son. Still convinced that his dad is alive and innocent, Marcus uses all of his skills as an advanced and gifted coder to unlock the mystery of his disappearance. Extremely conscious that his every movement is being tracked by government drones, he is fixated on weather patterns that he believes are linked to his father's vanishing. When he purposefully puts himself in the center of a horrific storm, the last thing Marcus expects is to be transported to a parallel world called Dracone. In this strange place, he meets Dree, a girl with unusual gifts of her own and a dragon companion to boot. Horrified that the drones have followed him to this new land, the two join forces with the dragons to battle the drones and perhaps reveal the whereabouts of Marcus's father. King delivers an effective amalgam of science fiction and fantasy in this first entry in a series. The book will hold strong appeal for kids who are into coding and all things tech. VERDICT A smart purchase for libraries looking to augment their tween sci-fi collection.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI