A Tale of Two Castles | 
pickThis was a fun, enjoyable MG fantasy + mystery—with a dragon, an ogre, two castles (naturally), and a young girl making her way in the world. As an adult reader rather than the intended middle grade audience, I had a few issues with the writing. But I liked the characters, I liked the mystery, and I probably would have loved this when I was the target age! This was a soft pick… and my 2011 read for #192025.
My issues: ⤵️
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👧🏻 At one point, the 12-year-old from a remote island conveniently and improbably has the exact expert knowledge that is needed
🐉 Levine emphasizes one of her world-building points ad nauseam: the idea that “Only a dragon knows ITs gender.” Which by itself is interesting and unique… but the execution got annoying, especially the over-usage of “IT” as a pronoun. In all caps. Never “it,” always “IT.” And, ⤵️ (edited) 2w
🚔 The consequences for the perpetrator were problematically non-existent… which (at least contextually speaking) makes sense for a middle grade novel, but also makes no sense when it comes to plot resolution. (edited) 2w