Ember and the Ice Dragons - by Heather Fawcett (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A stunning middle grade fantasy about a girl with a secret identity who used to be a dragon and her adventure to save her new home--from Even the Darkest Stars author Heather Fawcett. Perfect for fans of the Nevermoor and His Dark Materials series.

Ember St. George is a dragon. At least she was before her adoptive father--a powerful but accident-prone Magician--turned her into a human girl to save her life.

Unfortunately, Ember's growing tendency to burst into flames at certain temperatures--not to mention her invisible wings--is making it too dangerous for her to stay in London. The solution: ship Ember off to her aunt's research station in frigid Antarctica.

Though eccentric Aunt Myra takes getting used to, Ember quickly feels at home in a land of ice storms, mischievous penguins, and twenty-four-hour nights. She even finds herself building a found family with a girl genius called Nisha and a mysterious orphan named Moss.

Then she discovers that Antarctica is home to the Winterglass Hunt, a yearly tradition in which rare ice dragons are hunted for their jeweled scales. Furious, Ember decides to join the hunt to sabotage it from the inside.

But being an undercover dragon isn't easy--especially among dragon hunters. Can a twelve-year-old fire dragon survive the dangers that come her way in the Antarctic wilderness and protect the ice dragons from extinction in this heartfelt magical adventure?

• A Girl with a Fiery Secret: Ember wasn't born human, and her lingering dragon traits--like bursting into flames when she gets too warm--are getting harder to hide.
• Antarctica Setting: Whisked away to a remote research station, Ember discovers a world of mischievous penguins, 24-hour nights, and rare ice dragons facing a terrible threat.
• Unlikely Friendships: At the bottom of the world, Ember finds her place with Nisha, a girl genius, and Moss, a mysterious orphan, who help her on her dangerous mission.
• Magic and Science: From the daughter of an accident-prone Magician to the niece of a brilliant Scientist, Ember must use her unique heritage to sabotage a cruel dragon hunt from the inside.

Review Quotes

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "Cinematically vivid...immersive and absorbing." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "An utterly inventive and wholly original debut." - Booklist

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "With a dash of romantic entanglement, a rich original mythology, and a sizzler of a twist at the end, this duology opener will appeal to fans of femalecentric fantasy by such authors as Leigh Bardugo and Sarah Maas." - Kirkus Reviews

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "Brilliantly rendering aspects of mountaineering, debut novelist fawcett makes readers feel the constant danger and bitter cold." - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "Fawcett brings snow-capped mountains--and their baleful secrets--alive in this magical, atmospheric debut." - Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of The Crown's Game and The Crown's Fate

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "A deeply satisfying feast for fantasy lovers. It has dragons, witches, and ghosts as you've never seen them before, magic and thrills aplenty, and characters that you will gladly follow to the ends of the earth--or to the summit of the tallest mountain in the world. I fell in love with this book from the earliest pages and have left the gnawed-off pieces of my heart scattered across the Aryas" - Catherine Egan, author of Julia Vanishes

"Smart, funny and full of wonder. Part gripping Arctic adventure, part richly woven fantasy, this is the rare type of story that readers will want to visit again and again." - Kim Ventrella, author of Skeleton Tree and Bone Hollow

“A n interesting twist on the typical dragon novel.... Bookworm readers will relate to Ember's solitude-loving character in spite of her different species, and astute readers will see real-life parallels to the ethics of dragon hunting.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for EVEN THE DARKEST STARS: "A lush adventure filled with magic, myth, and monsters. Even the Darkest Stars will sweep you off your feet, steal your heart somewhere between the mountains and sky, and leave you breathless." - Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of Fear the Drowning Deep and Reign of the Fallen

"Fawcett's story is full of original details that add depth... But it is the richly nuanced primary and secondary characters, as well as the evenhanded inclusion of females as intelligent scientists, that give the story its richness... Fresh and original." - Kirkus Reviews

"Stunning descriptions and well-rounded characters are woven into a story that hums with excitement and adventure." - ALA Booklist

"This highly readable middle grade fantasy adventure wins with its likable heroine and ecological angle." - School Library Journal

"A hugely inventive and enjoyable fantasy. Pure magic." - Claire Fayers, author of The Voyage to Magical North

"Full of intrigue and adventure, magic and science, Ember and the Ice Dragons will keep you reading all the way to the last icy, breathless page." - Ruth Lauren, author of Prisoner of Ice and Snow