The Last Ember (The Aerimander Chronicles #1)

A private school student and an orphaned errand boy embark on a gripping adventure in Dodd’s confident and fiercely thought-provoking debut. Twelve-year-old science-obsessed Eva’s heretofore sheltered life is thrown into chaos after she’s unknowingly given a pilfered egg from a presumed-extinct, dragonlike race of creatures called aerimanders. Attracting the attention of Eoin Parnassus—a “simple man of pure evil,” who wants the unhatched aerimanders for destructive militaristic purposes—Eva hides the egg and decides to consult a scientist. Enter orphaned 13-year-old Dusty, a seasoned thief who attempts to swipe the egg from Eva’s boarding school dorm room only to end up absconding with both egg and girl. The unwilling duo bonds over their ill-gotten ovum, and races to uncover its secret before it falls into malevolent hands. Utilizing a dry-humored omniscient narrator, Dodd admirably balances expert worldbuilding with a rip-roaring plot and complicated character interactions that crackle with witty buoyancy. Themes of queer identity, wealth disparity, and moral philosophy are threaded throughout this incendiary fantasy adventure. Eva has “deep copper-brown skin”; Dusty is “fair skinned.” Ages 10–14. (Nov.)