The Last Dragon

This story is an unusual mix of fantasy and real-life problems which touches on some serious health issues.

Yara’s younger sister, George, has a condition that has kept her in hospital for months, but she doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Yara and her parents have moved into a small flat to be as close as possible to the hospital and Yara is often at home alone due to her parents’ working hours and frequent visits to George. She feels so lonely but rejects contact from her old school friends as she is focused on her sister’s health. In the search of company after school one day, Yara heads across the park to the shopping centre but is intercepted by Tildy – the last dragon on Earth. After a searching appraisal by the dragon, Yara is left an egg, and from then on she is hounded by the menacing Dragon Detection Squad who are desperate to obtain the only dragon egg in existence. Yara is on the point of giving it up when her new friend Bertie informs her of the legendary magical healing power of dragon eggs; it is then a race against time to get it to George in hospital and the Dragon Detection Squad doesn’t give up!

When the last dragon is found dead, the future of the egg becomes even more important, and as its guardian, Yara has to make some difficult choices.

There are themes of friendship, bullying, family bonds and serious illness. The characters are well-developed and Bertie is non-binary (them/they). I really enjoyed the story and the journey for all the characters, although the somewhat unexpected ending did seem a little sudden – the book is relatively short at 193 pages.