What would you do if you and your friends found a dragon egg one day? Dragons in the modern world, the government who is out to protect people from dragons, and the kids who just want to protect their new dragon friend makes for an interesting story. I love that the themes of friendship and the loyalty that comes with true friendship are pretty central themes in this story. It was a fun adventure, with great characters. I'm looking forward to book two! ( )

Kandi J. Wyatt is one of my favorite authors. There are many reasons for this. One she writes books that my students want to read. I teach middle school and finding books for this in-between group of teens is often difficult. Another reason she is one of my favorites is because no matter what she writes, it is so realistic I have to do some research. The premise of this story is that four teens are searching for thundereggs on a beach when they find a dragon’s egg. I immediately had to look up thundereggs to see if they were real, and if so, what they were. My husband and I spent thirty minutes researching thundereggs. We realized we had actually seen these things at shows, but never knew they were called thundereggs. I loved the trust relationship Kandi built between the kids and their science teacher. Believe it or not, a lot of students will trust their teachers with secrets than they would their own parents. For me this was very true to life. I love the worlds Kandi creates with dragons. She is one of the best when it comes to this subject matter. It makes everyone who reads her books want their own dragon. In this story the kids have a dilemma. They are trying to protect the dragon from those in higher positions. The interactions between the kids and the dragon, and with each other develop throughout the story. There is something there that every child who reads this will be able to relate to. Like all of her other books this is a great beginning to a new series. I am looking forward to the second one which comes out April 9th. ( )

Chace, Harley, Will, and Cherise are eighth graders on the west coast. When Harley's family's B & B guest, Professor Raleigh asks them for help in looking for thundereggs, they enthusiastically agree. They find an thunderegg, but quickly agree that it is more egg than rock. They decide to keep the egg hidden from the Professor, but do bring it to their science teacher, Mr. Behr. The egg eventually hatches revealing something unexpected- a dragon. Steria the dragon immediately bonds with all the kids, now they have to figure out how to care for a dragon and keep Steria safe from Professor Raleigh.

An exciting middle grade adventure-with dragons! Taking care of the egg and Steria is a great test of the group's friendship as they navigate a totally unique situation. My favorite character by far was Steria herself, calm and trusting- but playful at heart. Like many middle grade stories, the parents were left out of a lot, however, at least there was an adult involved with Mr. Behr. The tensions rose as Professor Raleigh is constantly on their tails and Steria needed more and more food. As we learned more about Professor Raleigh, it seems that he may not be the villain that everyone thought. I did really like the solution that the group found for Steria at the end, although it doesn't seem like it will last very long. Hopefully the next book will come up with a better solution.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )