Book Review: The Last Dragonslayer

The Last Dragonslayer (The Chronicles of Kazam #1)
By Jasper Fforde
18,000,000 Stars

“The Kingdom of Hereford was unique in the Ununited Kingdoms for having driving tests based on maturity, not age, much to the chagrin of a lot of males, some of whom were still failing to make the grade at thirty-two.”
 

There are no words for how much I absolutely adore this book! I want to carry it around with me everywhere, hugging it to my chest, whilst skipping and singing.

This book made me as happy as this guy jumping around with a lemur.

But seriously, if you're a fan of cleverness, wit, and general awesomeness, then this is the book for you. Jennifer Strange is 15 and runs Kazam, an employment agency for wizards in the Kingdom of Hereford. Magic, though, doesn't have the umph it used to; it's dwindling, and some fear it may be disappearing forever. Magic carpets are used to deliver pizza. Wizards are hired to rewire houses. But Jennifer is having a hard time getting these jobs for the agency; she keeps getting underbid by non-magic plumbers and electricians.

Suddenly, though, magic starts to grow again. The wizards are able to accomplish feats of magic that they haven't been able to do in decades. And anyone who has ever had any kind of premonition suddenly starts to see the same thing: The Last Dragonslayer will come and slay the last dragon.

I don't want to give too much away, but I'm telling you, I haven't read a book that made me giggle this much or provided me with such a general feeling of happiness the way this book did. I lurved it! The writing is fun, the characters (like the wizards Moobin and Full Price - who has a brother called Half Price) are wonderfully and creatively rendered, and the plot feels completely new - I've never read anything like it!

Jasper Fforde is one of my all-time favorite authors, and I'm thrilled he's written a new series for teens! If my gushing about the uber-amazingness of this book hasn't convinced you to run, not walk, to your local library or bookstore to get your hands on this book, then maybe the official book trailer will:

You're welcome :)

Meg-A-Rae #11: A Very Special Magical Episode

In this episode of Meg-A-Rae, Meg and I discuss October and all things Spooktacular! This is the third episode in our Spooktastic October Series - all month long we'll be talking about ghosts, the paranormal, magic, and anything we consider scary!

Here we talk about Magic and find out that Meg has some real skills! Meg works her magic and then reviews Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (which I've also read and reviewed here) the story of two men that bring magic back to Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. She also talks about the ultimate magical series, your favorite and mine: Harry Potter! I discuss two books: Sorcery and Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, the story of two girls in Regency England who find themselves mixed up in a magical mystery (how's that for alliteration?!?). I then talk about White Cat (Curse Workers #1), by Holly Black, about a teen and a magic mafia!

Seriously, though, why didn't Meg get a letter to Hogwarts? She's a natural!

Stay tuned for next week's episode all about ghosts! I wonder if the ghost from the Paranormal Episode will make another appearance...