HOUSING AVAILABLE-$60 PER WEEK
Nice room in pleasant family house
Meals and laundry included
Suits clean, tidy, quiet student

P.S. Must like children and cats
And dragons...


That’s the offer David Rain decided to accept as he was about to start his college courses at Scrubbley College. We meet David at Elizabeth Pennykettle’s house, an interesting but kind woman who says she will be delighted to have David stay with her and her daughter. Little does David know he is about to be involved in something that will change his life forever.



As David is talking with Elizabeth, he hears a voice and turns around. Marching toward him is Lucy Pennykettle, a bright and outgoing girl at the age of ten. As she walks up to David, her mom asked her what she was doing. Lucy replied that she was looking for Conker. David had no idea who or what Conker is, so he inquires, but receives no reply. Liz Pennykettle sighed, and then introduced David to her daughter. “Unfortunately, she comes with the package,” were Liz’s first words of her daughter.


After a few days, David learns of a very peculiar belief in the house. Liz and Lucy believe that dragons are real. On his second day there, Liz takes David on the complete tour of the house,, including the Dragon’s Den. The Dragon’s Den is where Liz creates all of her clay dragons. Apparently, the dragons she creates are not only special, they are also real. Therefore, David is presented with a dragon of his own, which he names Gadzooks.


Immediately, I was immersed into the story of David and his adventures with Liz and Lucy. The more and more David is in the house and around the girls, the more he starts to believe in dragons. The excitement in every paragraph makes you ant to keep turning page after page, so much so that you never want to put the book down. Chris D’Lacey does a marvelous job at incorporating detail and vocabulary into every page and instance. This book is a story within a story, and that is what makes it fascinating.

Personally, I would advise all people to read this novel, not just boys. Since this book has two main characters that are females, this book can be applied to many different circumstances in the everyday lives of teens. I would definitely state this book as a fantasy novel for many of its qualities. The front cover itself gives away the fictional aspect of the book. After all, talking and fire-breathing dragons aren’t part of everyday life.
Overall, I thought this book was a great read. I will definitely be looking forward to reading the other three novels in the series. I think Chris D’Lacey did a fabulous job of incorporating the fictional world and a college student’s life into one book. If you want to discover what happens to David, Liz, and Lucy, read The Fire Within, by Chris D’Lacey.