In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
  • April Spisak
Johnson, Jaleigh. The Mark of the Dragonfly. Delacorte, 2014. [400p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-385-37645-7 $19.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-37615-0 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-385-37646-4 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-7.

Piper, a thirteen-year-old in a bleak dystopic world, knows that she needs to get out of the salvage town in which she lives alone as an orphan, where folks only survive by picking up the strange treasures thrown out of the sky after violent meteor strikes. When she encounters Anna, who has near-total amnesia after barely surviving a meteor storm, and who sports a tattoo that marks her as protected by the king, Piper develops a risky plan: to take Anna to the authorities who might help the lost girl rediscover her identity, which involves boarding the 401, a train that can take them to the capital. They’re being chased by some dangerous people, but the folks who run this train, quirky outsiders who have found a sense of family crossing this desolate land together, wind up being formidable allies. A plot twist involving the true identity of one of the main characters may not surprise many readers, but it still packs an emotional wallop, as it will dramatically impact both Anna and Piper, who are both deeply likable characters in whom readers will be invested. Cool and intricately described machinery in a setting that actually is shaped by the evolution of mechanical objects, with a hint of innocent romance and a complex, impeccably developed plot—there is plenty to recommend this novel to adventure, fantasy, and steampunk fans. [End Page 460]

...

pdf

Share