Lightningborn (Storm Dragons, Book 1)

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

In a world in the clouds where only the rich own dragons, a poor boy named Remy finds a wild baby dragon—believed to be extinct—and becomes the focus of an evil pirate’s vengeance.

REMY spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge—one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep, and he feels a bond he has never felt with anyone. Remy names the dragon Storm and vows to protect this new friend, no matter the cost. 

GEM longs for the day when she call herself a true mage. That is, if she can convince her teachers and peers that just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean she’s lazy and spoiled. But when Gem learns that the floating islands that make up her kingdom are rapidly sinking into the Maelstrom, she makes it her mission to save her world. Against the king’s wishes, she accesses forbidden research and discovers the secret to saving humanity may lie in a True Dragon—a dragon capable of intelligent thought and able to cast and use magic. But True Dragons are extinct . . . aren’t they?

Remy’s and Gem’s lives will never be the same when their fates collide, thanks to Storm. With an evil pirate mage named Jhaeros determined to claim the rare dragon for himself, the two must learn to trust in each other as they team up with a shifty pirate captain and her crew, stand together against impossible odds, and embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

About the Author

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times best-selling author of the Iron Fey, Blood of Eden, Talon, and Shadow of the Fox series, was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there, so at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii—which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of huge geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel. Julie now lives in North Carolina with her husband, two obnoxious cats, and a pair of Australian shepherds. She loves video games, and has recently started streaming on Twitch and putting out videos on YouTube. Visit her on Twitter @JKagawa, Twitch @SylverKit, and on YouTube @JulieKagawa.