Et cetera : Book Review: Burn

Burn
Patrick Ness

Young Adult
Science Fiction
Reviewed by
Connie Bennett

Jump into the Wayback Machine, Ladies and Gentlemen, as I spin a tale of a dragon with a prophecy, in the far-off world of a "universe almost our own", in the year 1957.
First of all, I must tell you that nothing is as it seems, and all doubt in anything supernatural must be suspended! Let's begin!
What could be more ordinary than a father and daughter, meeting a new hand that would help them work their farm? Except that this farm hand was a dragon--a BLUE dragon, and it was flying in from the north!
This story moves quickly, so one naturally reads at a hungry pace to keep up. The young lady named Sarah has been left motherless, and has become friends with a boy from the next farm. He also lives with only his father, since his mother died in an internment camp in the not-too-distant past. They are in some ways an unlikely pair; her mother was black, and his parents are of Japanese descent. But, why shouldn't these things, that make them so different from others around them, be the very things that pull them together?
The dragons are considered a race of their own, from specific tribes and known by their country of origin, but also by color. Are they truly the dangerous beings they are rumored to be, or are they the salvation of a world which is about to explode in war?
Join this unlikely cast of characters as they are joined by two FBI agents, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police- oh! And of course, a bumbling Sheriff with a deputy bent on harassing and harming those he considers to be beneath him. Kazimir the Dragon is the superpower, but is he the hero or the villain?
Although written for young adults, this book is a fun read for anyone with a taste for adventure in an unfamiliar universe. I really enjoyed this book, although there are a few things I would disagree with. Read it for yourself and see what you think! Jump in with both feet, and enjoy!

Published 2020 HarperTeen HarperCollins Pub.