Bursting Box Publishing

This isn’t my first contemporary middle reader book to read by Wendy S. Swore, but this is my first to review.
While I liked A Monster like Me, it felt predictable and almost annoying when the main character judged another character with a similar problem. (3.5 stars)
I rather preferred Strong Like the Sea which includes interesting Hawaii culture and fun clues throughout the story. Despite its clever writing, it didn’t give me enough to consider for a full book review. (4.1 stars)

On the other hand, Sleeping Spells & Dragon Scales gives me a lot to say.

Quick Introduction

Meet Alaina, a pixie-haired daughter of a modern blacksmith who loves books, believes in magic, and deals with Type1 Diabetes. She used to be best friends with Liam, a realist soccer champion of their 6th grade class.
They’ve been assigned as partners for a project to write their own fairytales and “find magic in their everyday lives.” Alaina takes on another project to help Liam cure the curse of his sudden and frustrating naps and strange muscle locking.

Personally, I really related to these characters. (Not only because they’re set in Camas, Washington – which banks the Columbia River like my own home.) As a fan of soccer and one who studies fairytales, I loved the exploration of common and lesser-known stories (including Rip Van Winkle, Tolkien’s essay, Kate Crackernuts, and others).

I was especially grateful that Alaina’s character was given friends. So many times in stories, we get that booklover/ D&D player/ oddball cast as a loner, but that’s not realistic. Especially these days with social media and Nerd = Interested in Stuff, there’s a group for anyone, and we deserve like-minded friends.

Main Themes

Sleeping Spells & Dragon Scales is perfectly written for middle readers who often stop believing in magic, as the characters look for magic in the mundane and write their own fairytales. The turning of real modern-day problems into fairytales shows how fairytales are actually retellings of real life.

My favorite parts of this story are its themes and messages.
Not only did I enjoy the power given to fairytales and friendship, but I really appreciated the all-too-real struggle with Type1 Diabetes and an unknown illness, the frustration of negative tests that claim, “you’re fine,” the grief that comes from a chronic diagnosis, then the process of moving forward to continue living life despite it all.

Cleanliness

Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales is a middle-reader, meaning there’s a small picture every few chapters, then the main characters are 11-12 years old and on the brink of discovering romance. With a male and female protagonist regularly hanging out, there’s teasing about boyfriends/ girlfriends and “true love’s kiss,” but the one-second moment of lip locking isn’t about romance.
There’s no swearing or violence, but there’s some in-person and cyber bullying regarding their health issues. That’s sadly normal (and relatable) for middle-reader books these days.

More dramatic, there are a few life-and-death moments for the main characters between Alaina’s Type1 diabetes and Liam’s muscle-locking problem.

Overall

As an advocate for fairytales and raising awareness of seen and unseen health problems, I’ll happily recommend this one to anyone who wants to see a little more magic in their lives. Sleeping Spells & Dragon Scales is great for middle-readers, English teachers, parents, and fairytale lovers. Out of all of Wendy Swore’s books, this one easily my favorite. *****Solid 5 Stars*****