Tuesday, August 29, 2017

A Dash of Dragon by Heidi Lang - NO

Lang, Heidi and Kati Bartkowski A Dash of Dragon, 311 pages.  Aladdin (Simon), 2017.  $18. 

Lailu may only be 13, but she has mastered the art of hunting dangerous beasts and turning them into delectable dishes.  Instead working as a private chef, she and her mentor are trying something new – a place where ordinary people can come and try these dishes previously reserved for the wealthy.  However, the money came from Mr. Boss, a manipulative loan shark.  If Lailu doesn’t pay the money back in a supremely short amount of time, she will become Mr. Bosses unpaid servant forever.

I tried to like this book, but I could not buy the premise that a 13-year-old had graduated from years of studying at culinary school.  Had she been an underchef, that I could get behind, but not the master chef all graduated and the star.  The rest of the book was a mash of every single person around Lailu having ulterior motives – there was never anyone who was a reliable  narrator.  Too much a jumble with unconvincing plots and characters.

EL – NOT RECOMMENDED.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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