Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm, by Siobhan McDermott

     Author McDermott grew up in Hong Kong, born to Chinese and Irish ancestry, folklore and language. I mention this early because a lot of the names, especially, and words found in this fantasy story are words from Cantonese, or Gaelic, or a mix of both. I thought that was really cool and clever, but it made it hard for me to follow all of the characters and the storyline throughout. Maybe you'll have better luck of it, this being the first of what appears to be a trilogy so far.

    Paper Dragons is the story of Zhi Ging, who is chosen as a Silhouette from her village - the second one, in fact, when her village has never had two chosen children for this special privilege. But there is something unique about Zhi Ging, and she knows it, but isn't sure what it is or what it means. This book is her story of discovery, filled with adventure - dragons, magic, monsters and mystery! It really is a good concept for a story, and fans of any modern day fantasy story might like this...but again, I found it a little tough to follow.

    I admit by the time I was half way through the book I wanted to keep reading - you know those books that you just can't put down? Almost like that...close! But not five paws for this one. The one thing McDermott did not do very well, in this pups humble opinion, is explain setting. This fantasy story takes place largely under the sea, which is very cool. But she introduces so many new elements to this story it really needs some expert clarity and explanation to really feel like you, the reader, are in the story. McDermott misses this mark too often. There were too many times I didn't know what was happening, or who was involved. Don't get me wrong - I finished the book, and liked it! But there were many places I had to just keep reading forward and wait for the details to make sense. 

    I imagine her next books in this series will get stronger in this area, and this series could easily become a five paw series. But not yet with this first one. Close, and good, but some things need fixin'!  4 paws.