Dragon Mountain

I couldn't stop reading this util I had finished the book. Absolutely brilliant, and I can't wait for the next instalment. Full of adventure and friendship, brimming with originality, and I would soooooo love to be linked with one of these incredible dragons. Very descriptive with daring deeds as well as humour throughout the story. Fantastic!

Fun and REALLY cool. Love the cover, I have read the authors other work and think that this one is my new favorite!

As Billy and his new camp mates sit around the fire on their first evening at Dragon Mountain camp in China, they are hooked on the legend of the mountain they sit in the shadow of. The legend is being shared by Old Gold, leader of the camp. He also explains that the 12 children in front of him are the brightest and best, nominated to attend this camp, where not only will they upgrade their Mandarin speaking skills but will learn martial arts, cooking and will test themselves throughout the summer.
The camp mates are split into teams and these teams need to work and live together to win challenges and gain rewards. Billy, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling are teamed up and must work together to solve the first riddle given. This riddle leads them off the beaten track to find dragon fruit, but there they encounter a far scarier scene, a tiger. Little do the foursome know they have just met part of the legend told their first night in camp. However, running for safety back to camp, they are dismayed to find no one believes them, and they are punished for lying.

Bewildered at the reaction, the foursome must travel back to find Ling’s lost jewellery. They learn then that Old Gold’s legend is truth.

It turns out, the Tiger is the curse keeper and he must be defeated to gain access to the mountain. Hidden within the mountain are dragons, who can only be saved by the perfect balance of heart and bravery...aka....Billy, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling. The foursome battle their way to the dragons and learn that a bond must be formed between dragon and human. Powers are gifted and allies formed. The dragons are amazing, all vastly different with their own blend of magical abilities, powers and image. Each child bonds with a dragon and they are all surprised at their new talents, strengths and powers. They will draw on these in the days to come,

I always try to avoid spoilers and so in doing that, I cannot reveal certain important details....what you need to know Is that this is an incredible story, an epic journey and there are some brilliant twists and surprises along the way.

At times I was shocked, frightened, emotional but I was always full of hope. I loved the characters, and their hugely different personalities. I worried they would argue and fight more but the war they are raging is far more important. Their bonds of friendship are strengthened, and they learn to trust in new ways.

I was so thrilled to be able to read this via NetGalley, and am NEEDING book 2 as the twist and cliffhanger ending has left me wanting more dragons, more legends and answers!

Four unforgettable characters, a magical world children will desperately want to fall into and plenty of high-stakes action, twists and turns. Dragon Mountain is amazing!

I knew as soon as I heard about this story that I would enjoy it, and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Every chapter was filled with action and potential peril, and I raced through this story, reluctant to put it down. From moving mountains to disappearing tigers, there's so much to amaze and wonder readers.

Billy, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei were exciting protagonists readers will love. They are all different and uniquely engaging, but come together through their loyalty and courage, even if they are sometimes afraid. The bond between them is strong and touching - they're a group readers will wish they could be part of.

The dragons were also very well developed and described. I could picture each one clearly (although the stunning artwork on the cover helped too). I can see them inspiring lots of games, drawings, and stories, a lot like the dragons in the How to Train Your Dragon series.

The cliff hanger ending has left me desperate for book two. Dragon Mountain is the beginning of a brilliant adventure with end-of-the-world stakes and a formidable antagonist.

Yes!! I absolutely loved this, I can’t wait to be back in the shops selling it. Please tell me I won’t have to wait long for book two

Dragon Mountain by Katie and Kevin Tsang

This first step into older MG fiction by the talented husband and wife team who write the hugely popular Sam Wu books is a thrilling adventure set in the mountainous landscape of China.

It opens with a teenage Californian surfing champion, Billy Chan, reluctantly arriving in China to attend a Mandarin culture and language summer camp. He finds that he is in the company of a group of talented teenagers who have all been nominated by their teachers or coaches to attend this unique camp and anxiety creeps in that his patchy Mandarin skills will leave him performing badly compared to the other kids. After a bone-rattling and stomach churning drive up into the mountainous camp, Billy is pretty convinced that he would rather be back home surfing in the warm sea. However, he starts to form a bond with Irish lad, Dylan O’Donnell and is pleased that he is placed in the same cabin as him by the ancient Chinese camp leader Lao-Jin (Old Gold). On the first night, in the light of the campfire, Old Gold recounts the ancient myth of Dragon Mountain, the battle for supremacy between good and evil dragons and the source of the “River of Blood”.

The next morning the students are divided into teams of four. Billy and Dylan are placed together. Their additional team members are the outrageously confident Charlotte Bell, not just the holder of the Little Miss of the South title for four years, but also two-time ju-jitsu under-14 world champion, and the quiet, shy, dreamer Ling-Fei the adopted granddaughter of Old Gold. Each team of 4 is given a challenge to retrieve a specific item on the first morning and informed that the winning team will earn extra privileges throughout their time at camp. This is all the incentive that highly competitive Charlotte needs and she leaves her team in no doubt that they must win!

However, when they are confronted by a fierce tiger as well as an earthquake after taking a forbidden shortcut through a bamboo plantation, they find themselves caught up in a magical adventure that they could not have imagined.

The combination of contemporary teenagers bound up into a mythical fantasy is deftly handled, with the teens reacting in believable ways to the incredible scenario of bonding with dragons in a battle to save both the human and dragon realms from devastation caused by the evil dragon “The Great One” whose ambition is to rule over both kingdoms. This malicious dragon is aided by his followers, The Noxious or Nox-wings, an army of dark dragons.

Bravery, loyalty, strength and truth are the values in the hearts of the four teenage protagonists which have bound them to their dragons and alongside their dragon-bestowed powers arm them for a battle with a fearsome enemy.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t go into any further details about the plot. This is a fast-paced fantasy adventure, likely to be devoured in a couple of days by confident upper key stage 2 readers; the plot grips you more tightly than a dragon’s claws. Equally it would be a great story for a teacher or librarian to read aloud...but be prepared for demands from the children for “one more chapter”! The book ends on an absolute cliff-hanger and I certainly hope I don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next!

Highly recommended for fans of Harry Potter, Septimus Heap and Percy Jackson.