Christian Book Review: DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul

If you are a Christian parent who thinks that dragons and spells are not something appropriate for a chidren's book, and that prevents you from buying DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul for your kids, allow me to reassure you. Mrs. Paul's DragonKeeper fantasy series has nothing to do with occult; not only that, it is written from a strong Christian perspective.

In the fantastical world of Amara, where the book takes us, dragons are just one of the many kinds of creatures that populate the realm, with no connection to dark spirituality whatsoever. Dragons are not feared but respected, for they were created to work with people and help them using their special gifts. Each dragon has one primary gift, manifest from its birth, like healing or singing beautiful songs, for example. Finding dragon eggs and taking care of them and of newborn dragons is also a gift, and a rare one. That's why when Kale, a 14 year old slave girl, finds a dragon egg her whole life changes.

Kale is an orphan who belongs to the race of o'rants but lives in a village of mariones. There are fourteen different races in Amara, known as seven high and seven low races. I know I have used the word "people" in the previous paragraph; let me take a step back and clarify that "people" in this case does not mean "humans." There are no humans in this story. Different from our world and unconnected with it, Amara is inhabited by o'rants, mariones, doneels, kimens, and other exciting new creatures to get to know.

The villagers understand the importance of Kale's finding the egg, so they agree to send her to the capital city, Vendela, to seek counsel from the wise wizards. Once again, "wizards" in this story have nothing to do with occult or witchcraft. There are "good" and "bad" wizards, with a line clearly drawn between the two. Good wizards study the Creator's laws of nature and operate within them; bad ones try to overstep the boundaries and create their own stuff. Thus Risto, an evil wizard, has captured a very rare meech dragon egg and plans to use it to breed a new species of creatures that would serve him. Kale, whose talent of a Dragon Keeper is soon confirmed, is the one to stand against Risto and save the meech egg.

The story is very original, it does not follow any familiar and therefore predictable plot. I liked the idea of little dragons bounding in a special way with the person who carries the eggs and needing their guidance as they grow and mature. The descriptions of Kale interacting with Gymn and Metta, the two baby dragons she has in her charge, are captivating (be prepared for your kids to ask for a little pet dragon after reading this book). The world of Amara, its races and culture are well-developed and skillfully portrayed.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good adventure, especially fantasy, based on good morals and in line with the Christian truth.