Chris D'Lacey – The Fire Within
The Fire Within follows college freshman David Rain into the eccentric Pennykettle household when he becomes their tenet. Liz Pennykettle is a locally renown sculptor, creating clay dragons so artfully crafted, it would be hard to believe they weren't real. Upon moving in Liz gifts David with his very own dragon, a storytelling dragon. With the inspiration of his dragon, David begins to write a short story about a one-eyed squirrel who is the passion of Liz's daughter Lucy and in the process finds his stories uncover more than he could have imagined.
On a whim and between books I picked up this book from my shelves. A book bought, largely on a whim because it dealt with dragons, from my middle school Scholastic Book Fair. I remembered that I had absolutely loved the book then, but that was about all I could really remember about the book.
I got quite a kick out of the large print and small chapters (we're talking roughly 200 words per page, eight pages per chapter). I admit I was slightly worried that this old favorite of mine would not hold up to the test of time and I would find it excessively childish or boring.
A decade later, as a college kid myself, I still found myself cheering for the characters, swooning for the lovely Sophie and even getting misty eyed towards the end. I was honestly amazed how entranced I became with such a simple and elegant plot line.
As the first part of a series, expect further reviews from this author. (Truth be told, I've already read and finished the second book).
As for my recommendation – If you like dragons, squirrels, and the creative pursuits (sculpting, writing, storytelling) then read it!
Wishing I had a Gadzooks to help me write better,
~Timothy Reid
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