Barbara Lieberman

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Dragonmarsh

When Remi steals a cell phone, she’s brought out to the family estate instead of going to jail. Her mother is at her wits end trying to figure out how to handle Remi’s impulsive and angry behavior. With nowhere else to go Remi begins to explore the dusty halls of the estate and discovers the library. And within the shelves of books, is one special to the family. One that may hold all the reasons Remi doesn’t quite fit in.

Remi was at times an over-the-top character with her reactions and attitude, but it all added to the believability of her age. She clearly has anger issues and is dealing with the emotions that come along with not fitting in. She verbally strikes back at her mother, and there are times when the reader may feel uncomfortable with their interactions. But it lays down quite the foundation for Remi to evolve as a character.

While the build-up of Remi’s background and reasoning for behaving as she does is well established, her evolution as a character happens at a hastened pace. Readers will be able to see why she begins to make different choices, but it is a little jarring to see her change her mind so quickly. A slower-paced discovery and change in attitude would have helped her character development be more believable. And I would have loved to see more interactions with her mother showing this slow progression.

Dragonmarsh has an interesting take on dragons, and how they exist in the world. Remi is a feisty teenager who discovers there is much more to the world than what she believes. And through her discovery, she begins to learn how to reconnect with family and discover who she really is.… (més)