The Story of Owen
Dragon Slayer of Trondheim
Binding: Hardcover
Age 11+
General Fiction
An inventive, smart, and very entertaining novel.
This is the story of Owen, a young dragon slayer, and Siobhan, his bard, and how they saved much of Canada from dragon infestation and in so doing, restored the dragon-bard relationship to its proper place. It’s also not quite what you’re thinking. You can read this in any number of ways, all of them entertaining and thought-provoking. You can see this as a cautionary (but very witty) environmental parable/alternate history: What if the dangers of industrialization and unchecked carbon emissions were visible and completely unsubtle, like dragons? It’s also a book about a teenage girl coming to grips with the power and responsibility of her own storytelling. And there’s quite a solid contemporary dragon adventure story.
Creators
Emily Kate Johnston is a forensic archaeologist, has lived on four continents, decorates cupcakes in her spare time, and loves to make up stories. The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim (Carolrhoda Lab, Spring 2014) was Kate's first novel. It was a Junior Library Guild Selection and won the Kirkus Smart Reads for Teens award. Visit her online at ekjohnston.ca.
