City of Thieves (Battle Dragons #1), written by Alex London, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary:  Battle Dragons: City of Thieves is the first book of a trilogy.  As the title suggests, this is a futuristic/dystopic world with dragons.  There are underground dragon battles and they have been integrated into society.  Some dragons pull the school bus!  The premise is that dragons almost made themselves extinct, but the government domesticated them.  There are different breeds of dragons, some better suited to certain jobs.  Some dragons are well suited to battle, making it a highly sought-after position to be a dragon rider.  There is a school for this that Abel aspires to. Abel unfortunately did not have a good rider’s exam. He’s said that his brother has left home and turns out his sister is stealing dragons with a gang.  However, the government of Drakopolis and its law enforcement, may not have its citizens' best interests in mind.  Will Abel trust his sister?  Does Abel want to keep riding dragons and fighting?  What is worth fighting for?

Straight Talk for Librarians:  This book is pretty fast-paced with lots of adventure at night and the dragon battles.  It’s fun to imagine the dragons wooshing around in the night sky.  This book is targeted to readers who are between 9-13ish years old.  I think it might raise some eyebrows that the author used a non-binary character with they/them pronouns. It seemed a little forced as there is no sexuality within the plot line and the intended audience is a bit young.  It has some exciting action adventure, family dynamics, some mystery to work out and school relationships in an urban fantasy dystopian setting.  There are not a lot of professional reviews for school librarians to make a purchasing decision with this series.  It averages about three stars on various review sites. That is about where I would put it. The cover will grab readers - who doesn’t love dragons?  It’s a quick read and might introduce new readers to the urban fantasy genre.