Girls and boys will devour this superb debut novel that's written by a teenager. A riding school for not horses but dragons is it's premise and Salamanda pulls it off with considerable aplomb. Poor Cara, the daughter of the owner of the riding school isn't allowed to ride and instead spends her days looking after the dragons, but it's a dragon called Skydancer who she builds up a remarkable bond with and with whom she tries to spend most of her time, until that is a simply horrible and terribly spoilt girl called Hortense starts riding her beloved Skydancer and everything begins to go wrong. Chicken House, its publisher have sensibly brought it out as a paperback original so it's good value and you even get a cleverly designed double cover. If you enjoyed Margaret Bateson-Hill's Dragon Racer, then you'll love this.
Discover the thrills and spills of riding the most exciting animals ever. At Dragonsdale, riding is the most important thing in the world. Everybody is looking forward to the Island Championship - everyone except for Cara, who can only dream of flying Sky, her favourite dragon. Ever since her mother's tragic accident, her father has forbidden her to ride. But when Hortense, the haughty daughter of the ruler of the Isles, takes Sky to spite her, Cara will risk everything to save him - even taking to the wild lands beyond.
Salamander Drake lives with her family on Pennyloaf Island in the Isles of Bresal. She wrote Dragonsdale at the age of thirteen whilst recovering from a serious riding accident.
She lives with three wyverns (Mimsy, Tove and Slithey) and lists her hobbies as reading, playing the harp and watching the skies.
