Eleven-year-old Ollie Atwood didn’t think that dragons were a real thing. But then Ollie takes a job where he discovers that these incredible beasts are not only very real, but they also need help.
Eleven-year-old Ollie Atwood didn’t think that dragons were a real thing. But then Ollie takes a job where he discovers that these incredible beasts are not only very real, but they also need help.
For his 11th birthday, Ollie Atwood was given a hand-me-down jacket, a painted kite and a card with pressed flowers inside. His younger siblings cheered. His dad patted him on the back with a smile. And his mom told him … to go get a job!
Of course, Ollie wasn’t shocked about his mom’s demand. In the town of Oakridge, 11-year-olds are considered well of age to help start supporting their family.
“Hard work is the foundation on which the house of a man’s soul is built,” said his father, who is poetic.
“We need money,” said his mother, who isn’t.
So Ollie soon trudges off to find employment. Problem is, there’s very little he can do except start working at the local silverware factory—a dangerous job that can easily lead to lost fingers or limbs. But Ollie isn’t sure what else he has the skills for. The woman at the employment office agrees.
However, while peering glumly at the employment bulletin board, Ollie finds a rolled-up piece of paper wedged behind the board’s wooden frame. That paper has JOB OPPRTUNITY neatly printed on its side. So before any other jostling job seekers see it, Ollie pockets the paper roll and leaves the office.
Ollie crouches in a nearby alley and unrolls the scrap of paper and spreads it out on his knee. The message is so small that he has to bend over to read it.
We are seeking a young person to aid us in our endeavors.
Must be discreet, punctual, adaptable, a brunette, and unafraid to die.
If interested, please present yourself at the big house off East Road at noon next Monday.
Tell absolutely no one where you’re going.
Now this, Ollie thinks, is enticing. It’s a lot like the mysteries he loves reading. The note doesn’t say anything about what the job might actually be, but it is in a house, so it’s got to be better than factory drudgery. For that matter, Ollie has the stated requirements, too. He can be punctual when he puts his mind to it, and he’s a flexible sort. He even has the required brown hair.
There is that one part in the note about being “unafraid to die.” But that’s gotta be a joke, right? Right?
In any case, Ollie decides that he’ll walk out on East Road on Monday and see what’s what.
Whatever this job is, it can’t be that bad.
None.
The Last Dragon House takes place in a fantasy world that feels similar to our Industrial Age. However, this world has both dragons and magic—both of which have been shunted aside and forgotten by the general populace. In fact, when the story begins, neither Ollie nor his younger sister, Jenny, believe in dragons or magic until the truth is revealed to them. Jenny eventually recognizes that she holds the stirring powers of a magician within herself.
Ollie meets Dr. Lady Abernathy, an impressive older woman who invites him to work in a house where dragons live. The house is something of a magical sanctuary where the large creatures can live in peace and security. However, outside human forces are trying to eliminate both Dr. Abernathy and her house’s residents.
One of the dragon residents is a mysterious critter who wears the frowning theatrical mask representing tragedy. Dr. Abernathy states that this dragon, called Ehrm, “has powers we can’t understand.” And we see its magic in practice at various points in the story.
The dragon enters Ollie’s dreams and tells him that he will be called upon. He’ll not be alone, but he will need to keep his wits about him and make things change with the help of others. In a vision, this mysterious dragon also tells the tween boy, “I made a sacred promise long ago to observe, and to tell the truth, but not to influence.” However, Ehrm does “bend time and space” to help Ollie save someone’s life at one point.
Ollie’s young sister, Jenny, discovers a small, wounded dragon hiding under a bush in her family’s yard. She notes that the creature heals itself with magic. And with time this dragon helps Jenny realize that she has powers of her own that she can learn to tap. Jenny is eventually able to magically pull poison out of a dying person’s body.
Ollie and Jenny’s parents are both loving people, though Mom seems much more matter-of-fact and deliberate in her words and actions. The kids’ dad is a man who sees the world through a poet’s eyes; their mother doesn’t have time for such things.
However, both parents go out of their way to help others and protect their children. (Mom even secretly lends aid to people at the local factory who are being taken advantage of. In a sense, she helps someone start the process of rallying and unionizing the abused laborers.)
Dr. Lady Abernathy becomes a powerful force in young Ollie’s life. She is firm but caring, and she helps Ollie realize that he can make a difference in the lives of those around him with his intellect and compassion. Eventually, it becomes clear that she sees something special in the tween and hopes that Ollie might someday replace her as caretaker of the dragon house.
Ollie faces a massive and deadly dragon called the Death Wyrm and, in a way, because of Dr. Abernathy’s training and encouragement, outfoxes and befriends the deadly creature.
Ollie also makes friends with a variety of other dragons—from the immensely large to the small and delicate—and they are in turn ready to run to his defense when danger arrives. For instance, one small fairy dragon—multicolored dragons with the magical ability to heal others—becomes so enamored with the boy that she repeatedly curls around his shoulders, purring. And when Ollie heads off on a life-saving quest, a large rock dragon named Onyx declares that she will do whatever it takes to protect him from harm.
The book points out that an angry Ollie curses at one point, though it doesn’t reveal the word he uses. Other than that, the strongest language on display is someone’s exclamation of “up yours!”
Dr. Abernathy drinks wine.
Despite all of Dr. Abernathy’s precautions, including a magical cloaking of the house and magically sealed doors, some people still find a way to harm her. Her wine is poisoned, for instance. And someone sends masked teens past the house’s defenses. The boys injure some dragons, throw around exploding vials of chemicals and try to steal away with some fairy dragons to sell them. The invaders are stopped and thumped around themselves.
When Ollie and a small group of dragons set off to find a cure for poison, they encounter a number of dangers, both from humans and dragons. For instance, Ollie and friends come upon a gigantic dragon in a cave. The mother dragon believes that Ollie’s crew is threatening her children, and she attacks them with searing blasts of flame and clawed slashes. Dragons attack one another and are wounded. Some fall from great heights.
Ollie is bullied by a large teen boy named Trev. Later he befriends Trev after the teen loses several fingers on his hand while working at the silverware factory. Trev wraps his hand in rags and writhes in pain in his sleep. (A dragon helps heal Trev’s open wound.)
We’re told that many dragons are genderless. While reaching through someone’s memories for a way to heal them, Jenny sees a very brief reference to a woman’s same-sex attraction and a single shared kiss.
Are you a fan of dragons? If so, why? Sometimes they can seem pretty dangerous, and there are some rather large and scary dragons in this story. What did you think of them?
Do you think the dragons in this book could be compared to different people we meet in real life? What do you think The Last Dragon House might be saying about those people and how we should deal with them?
At one point, the Dragon Ehrm tells Ollie that he is not a hero. Why do you think he told him that? What did Ehrm want Ollie to consider?
Take a look at Galatians 6:2; Romans 15:1; Proverbs 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11. What’s the common theme in all of those verses? Are you able to rely on others and lean on the strength of God when you encounter problems and trials in your life?
The Last Dragon House is the first in a planned series of books. It’s a lovely read filled with whimsy, quirky characters, and lots of fun action. The book encourages self-sacrifice, exhibiting loving compassion toward others, and doing the best you can with whatever life gives you—both the good and the bad.
Parents of young readers should note that there are a few roaring and slashing perilous moments in the adventure. There are also magical creatures and magic use in the mix. And there’s one lightly referenced same-sex attraction.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at letters@pluggedin.com.
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
