For fans of Frozen, The City of Ember, and The School of Good and Evil, the New York Times bestseller The Mark of the Dragonfly is a fast-paced adventure story about a mysterious girl and a fearless boy, set in a magical world that is both exciting and dangerous.
Piper has never seen the Mark of the Dragonfly until she finds the girl amid the wreckage of a caravan in the Meteor Fields.
The girl doesn't remember a thing about her life, but the intricate tattoo on her arm is proof that she's from the Dragonfly Territories and that she's protected by the king. Which means a reward for Piper if she can get the girl home.
The one sure way to the Territories is the 401, a great old beauty of a train. But a ticket costs more coin than Piper could make in a year. And stowing away is a difficult prospect--everyone knows that getting past the peculiar green-eyed boy who stands guard is nearly impossible.
Life for Piper just turned dangerous. A little bit magical. And very exciting, if she can manage to survive the journey.
Praise for The Mark of the Dragonfly:
★ “This magnetic middle-grade debut…[is] a page-turner that defies easy categorization and ought to have broad appeal.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred
★ “Heart, brains, and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum.”-- Kirkus Reviews, Starred
★ “A fantastic and original tale of adventure and magic...Piper is a heroine to fall in love with: smart, brave, kind, and mechanically inclined to boot.”—School Library Journal, Starred
“A complex and impeccably developed plot—there is plenty to recommend in this novel.”—The Bulletin
“Appealing characters and lots of action make it a good choice for young adventure readers.”—Booklist
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“Thirteen-year-old Piper is anorphan who struggles to survive by scavenging, repairing, and resellingartifacts from other worlds. Narrator Kim Mai Guest does an excellent jobevoking Piper’s tenacity—not only to survive but also to one day get herselfout of the lowly scrap town where she lives and make something of her life.Opportunity comes when Piper rescues a mysterious girl, Anna, and sets out toreturn her to the capital of the neighboring Dragonfly Territories. Thebreathy, somewhat ethereal tone Guest uses to portray Anna perfectly matchesthe scatterbrained, timid girl. Guest pulls listeners into the treacherousadventure as the girls are pursued by a dangerous man bent on seizing them. Asuspenseful narration and a vaguely steampunk-inspired world make this a funlisten.”
— AudioFile
“Merging elements of dystopia, steampunk, and fantasy, this magnetic middle-grade debut imagines an alien world where thirteen-year-old Piper survives by working as a scrapper, salvaging artifacts left behind by meteor storms…Piper and her new ally, the enigmatic Gee, exhibit maturity and resourcefulness at every turn in a page-turner that defies easy categorization and ought to have broad appeal.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“A fantastic and original tale of adventure and magic with steampunk elements and a little romance thrown in. The landscapes the girls pass through are imaginatively depicted and cinematically described (streets lit by glowing ‘night eye flowers’). Fierce battles are tempered with humor, and Piper is a heroine to fall in love with: smart, brave, kind, and mechanically inclined to boot!”
— School Library Journal (starred review)“Heart, brains, and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum…Consistent and precise attention to detail, from the functioning of a security system to the communicative abilities of a telepathic species, thrills. This is foremost a rugged adventure story, but there is a splash of romance (and a fabulous makeover scene).”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Part Firefly and part Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn, this alternate-world novel is full of mechanical wonders, magical people, and unambiguous good guys and bad guys. Appealing characters and lots of action make it a good choice for young adventure readers with a taste for steampunk.”
— Booklist“This is a gateway book for intermediate readers not ready for the sexual innuendo of the Steampunk genre; but eager for adventure, Star Wars-like science fiction, and Potter-ish fantasy. Even better, the book has not one but two strong female characters and a single male ‘crush’ character, instead of the standard heroine deciding between two loves…There is no letdown in the momentum of this story, and the constant reveals of secret identities and complicated relationships will keep readers totally engaged and awaiting a sequel.
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Jaleigh Johnson is an author and lifelong reader, gamer, and moviegoer. She loves nothing better than to escape into fictional worlds and take part in fantastic adventures. She is the author of several books for young readers, including The Mark of the Dragonfly and several books in the Forgotten Realms series.
Kim Mai Guest is an award-winning voice actor for audiobooks and video games. She can also be heard on television shows, such as G.I. Joe: Renegades, Batman: the Brave and the Bold, and Avatar, and in movies such asChill Out Scooby Doo and Dead Space: Aftermath. Her video game work includes Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and The Lord of the Rings.