Dragon Games: The Frozen Sea by Maddy Mara

Title: Dragon Games: The Frozen Sea

Author: Maddy Mara

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st August 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

Price: $14.99

Synopsis: Team Dragon is back! This time Luca, Yazmine and Zane have landed in the icy region of North Gelida. Here they must navigate giant frozen waves and outrun a hungry monster made of snow to return the second Thunder Egg to its frosty palace. But Dartsmith, the evil leader of Imperia, is always lurking, determined to make sure the dragon prophecy won’t come true. He’ll do whatever it takes to win the Dragon Games—but Luca, Yazmine and Zane are determined to stop him!

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Luca, Yazmine, and Zane are back – and they’re heading back to Imperia to find the second Thunder Egg and return it to where it belongs so the dragon prophecy can come true so Dartsmith can be defeated. But the three are still not sure about each other – they might be a team when they’re in Imperia, yet when they’re at school they couldn’t be more different. Yet they seem to work well together – better than with anyone else at school, perhaps. But Imperia is filled with dangers and obstacles that Dartsmith throws their way. Can Team Dragon find the next Thunder Egg?

This new junior fiction to early middle grade series is filled with fun, magic, and friendship. I loved that the three main characters were diverse in many ways, and it looks like they’re each going to get a turn as a dragon, a human, and a beast in Imperia, which will suit the story well for the first three books, which will hopefully wrap up the main Thunder Egg storyline. I liked that the kids weren’t always sure of each other, but they soon learnt to work together, and the story was all about teamwork and listening to each other and finding ways to achieve a collective goal.

Friendship, and the evolution of friendship is a key theme in this book, and I loved that it used dragons and magic – something that kids of all ages seem to love. Dragons have been part of books for as long as I can remember, from picture books to young adult books. They’re the kind of creature that engages all sorts of readers. This is the second in a new series from Maddy Mara, who has created a couple of other junior fiction series that appeal to younger readers and have a high interest feel to it with accessible language that isn’t too simple and not to difficult. The length of the story makes it a quick and achievable read for kids who are reluctant readers or don’t like longer books. It is a wonderful step up from highly illustrated books when kids are ready for that next stage, as they move towards longer books.

Books like this are a great bridge – the ongoing action, short, sharp chapters, and engaging story make it the kind of book that many readers will love to read. I loved reading this one, as it was very engaging and I think it can be picked up without reading the first book, but it would be much more fun to read from the first book onwards. Still I had fun reading this one and hope other people do to.