The Dragon Forest: A Book Review

Me with Anjali Moore

My Editor's daughter, Anjali, read my book for a class book report. She did such a great job, that I asked her permission to post it here on The Dragon Forest blog. I am glad she agreed! 

Enjoy and let her know what you think!

THE DRAGON FOREST

 The Dragon Forest is set in the Kingdom of Illiath which is located in the country of Théadril. Illiath consists of a great limestone castle, rolling hills, deserts, and the great green Dragon Forest. The forest is where the legendary Dragon of the Forest lives. King Alexander, his son Prince Peter, and their servants live in a strong, majestic castle. 

Prince Peter of Illiath is the main character of the novel. The Dragon and King Alexander are also major characters. The narrator is from outside the story. A character is not telling the story, so the point of view is in third person. Peter is a brave 10-year-old boy who ventures into the Dragon Forest to help his dad without him knowing it. Peter has brown hair, brown eyes, and a passion to help his father.

The Dragon Forest is a fantastical tale about a mystical dragon, a courageous prince, an amazing forest, a raging battle, and the loving bond between father and son. Peter feels useless to his father because Alexander is always so busy with the fast approaching war being brewed by the evil Lord Caragon so he decides to gather some food, saddle up his horse, Titan, and enter the sinister dragon realm. No one has journeyed into the Dragon Forest and left alive except for his forefathers. Peter wants to get the dragon scales because they are known to be impenetrable. Instead of capturing the scales, he befriends the colossal dragon and realizes how beautiful the glistening scales really are. Soon the treacherous war takes place in the kingdom of Illiath and Peter. the Dragon, and a lot more characters join forces to defeat the deadly Lord Caragon. And then at the end of the story there is a drastic thing that happens to the Dragon of the Forest, but I won't spoil it for you, because you should read this book too.

The major conflict in the story is that Lord Caragon keeps on sending evil creatures and casting louche spells to take over Illiath. The conflict is resolved piece by piece because the faithful soldiers, rulers, and animals—such as the Dragon—help the cause.

The genre of this novel is fantasy because of many qualifications. There are fictional creatures such as ogres, trolls, Zadoks, and many more. In the book, the Dragon speaks, and animals don't talk. The Dragon Forest is set  in a different world that is similar to medieval times with castles, kingdoms, knights, kings, and queens. There is also dark magic and spell casting involved in the story.

I absolutely enjoyed reading The Dragon Forest. I loved how everything the author wrote about was described in great detail. I especially liked all the descriptive writing about food using colors and smells. I also liked the way the author described the Dragon with glistening scales, gleaming eyes, and a soft snout. I loved the way she portrayed the feelings of characters and the plot about Peter and the Dragon. The only thing I would change about the book is less use of the same words, such as "glistening" and "in unison". She used them a lot. 

I would definitely recommend this book to others because it is a spectacular story and I'm very glad I read it.

Author Study

I don't know when Ruth A. Douthitt was born but I know she hasn't died yet because I saw her just a few weeks ago. The Dragon Forest is her first book in a three part series. She has already written the second book in the series called Son of the Oath, but it has not been published yet. She is also writing a book called The Warfare Club to start a different series. Ruth received a B.A. in Visual Arts from Arizona State University and a Master's degree in Education from the University of Phoenix. She works at Grand Canyon University with my father, Chris Moore, who edited The Dragon Forest. Ruth A. Douthitt lives with her husband and son in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thank you, Anjali, for your review!! I hope you received a good grade for your report.