Sky Dragon – Brave the Storm

Sky Dragon – Brave the Storm by Anh Do, illustrated by James Hart (Allen and Unwin) ISBN 978-1-76106-560-6 PB RRP $ 15.99

Reviewed by Nean McKenzie

The beginning of the fourth book in the Sky Dragon series, sees main character Amber injured with concussion, from her fight with Money Man in the previous book.  She realises that her normal powers – being able to summon insects and transform into a sky dragon – are gone. She goes on a trip with her grandmother Irene to the jungle in Asia, to relax and regain her powers.  Meanwhile, Agent Ferris does a deal with a woman called Scarlet Stewart for something called ‘Project Aquarius’ and Firefighter struggles with his memory loss.

Full of action, the story tells of Amber’s struggle between being ‘normal’ and wanting her powers back. In the rainforest she meets a girl called Lin who is initially suspicious of Amber but has a struggle of her own. The villagers are fighting against Evercorp, a group of mercenaries who have come to steal the legendary diamonds in a nearby cave. The group includes Scarlet Stewart and two robots. As they fight against the mercenaries, Amber and Lin become friends.

Fast paced, the story set in the jungle is quite exciting, with blow darts as weapons, vines to climb up the sides of cliffs and a special blue smoke signal to ask for extra help when in trouble. Amber only regains her powers when she is most in need of them. Frequent illustrations and the eye-catching green cover add to the characterisation and setting. At the end, when Amber’s story is wrapped up, Agent Ferris discovers Firefighter (who has regained his memory) has disappeared, setting things up nicely for Sky Dragon 5.  

Sky Dragon Brave the Storm is suitable for middle-grade readers. A chapter of Anh Do’s next Wolf Girl book (number 7) is included as a teaser at the end of this book.