To Read, Perchance to Dream: Book Review: Raising Dragons (Dragons in our Midst #1) by Bryan Davis

A boy learns of his dragon past; a girl has known of hers for years. They combine their faith, courage, and love to overcome an evil slayer who seeks to bring an end to dragon heritage, forever. The kids at school call Billy "Dragon Breath" for good reason. His breath is bad! It isn't the normal, morning-mouth bad; it's the hot-as-fire, "don't-you-dare-get-near-me" bad. And hearing "Dragon Breath" ringing in his ears, he constantly tries to cool his oral volcano. Trouble erupts when his hot breath sets off the fire sprinklers in the boys' restroom at school, and his parents learn that they've kept their secret for too long. Billy finally discovers the secret. His father was once a dragon! Now that's a piece of news a guy doesn't deal with every day! Billy feels betrayed, alien, lost. When his father reverts to his dragon form, and they're both chased by dragon slayers, he learns to trust his father again, battling the slayers with weapons of steel and spirit. Bonnie, an orphan, tries to find a home, someone to love her, even though she feels like a freak because of a body feature that she calls a deformity, her dragon wings, inherited from her now dead dragon mother. She discovers that her love for others and her faith in a Creator hold the answers she is looking for. Raising Dragons is a contemporary fantasy novel that inspires young people to dig deep within to find their God-given strengths and use them to overcome any obstacle.

Raising Dragons is a great young adult book. It's a unique look at an old concept - dragons and the Arthurian legends. It seems Billy is part dragon on his father's side and he's starting to exhibit certain dragon powers which are hard for him to control. He makes a friend, Bonnie who is also part dragon, and the adventure begins, because where there are dragons, there are dragonslayers.

The story is full of action and surprises which will keep a young adult reader's attention. The characters are written very well. You see Billy and Bonnie grow and mature as they face the many dangerous situations. They learn to accept themselves and their differentness from other people. With all that and some humor thrown in for good measure, Raising Dragons was a very enjoyable book to read!