The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

The Mark of the Dragonfly is a middle grades fantasy novel that tells the story of a young, orphaned girl named Piper. Piper lives in what is known as a "scrap town" in the land of Solace. She ekes out a living scavenging in the meteor fields - an area that is regularly pummeled by meteors containing old, broken objects from other worlds. She has a talent for fixing mechanical pieces, so she is able to provide for herself by finding broken items, fixing them up, and selling them at her market.

After a particularly bad meteor storm, Piper witnesses a caravan being destroyed by falling debris. In the wreckage, she makes an unusual discovery - an unconscious girl with a curious symbol tattooed on her arm. Piper recognizes the mark right away as the mark of the dragonfly. It means that this mysterious girl is under the protection of a neighboring king. If Piper can return the girl to her kingdom, she might earn a hefty reward and save herself from a life of poverty.

The unconscious girl quickly revives and identifies herself as Anna. She has lost most of her memory and has no idea where she comes from, but it is immediately apparent that she is someone important when a few hours after her rescue, a wealthy-looking man attacks Piper and tries to carry Anna off. Suddenly on the run, Piper and Anna hop on board a supply train headed towards the Dragonfly Territories to try and escape the strange man and get Anna back to where she belongs. A fantasy adventure ensues as Piper and Anna face grave danger, make new friends, and discover some very important things about themselves.

This was a cute novel, and one that I think younger readers will enjoy. For me, it lacked crossover appeal for adult readers. It was a bit too young, and the inevitable romance that comes into play in the last section of the novel between Piper and another character, Gee, was underdeveloped and overly sentimental. For the genre it belongs to, however, this was an entertaining read, and I will certainly recommend it to some of my fantasy-loving kiddos.

Unfortunately for my reading experience, I was able to guess the big twist at the ending about 70 pages into the book. I don't think that an average, young reader would figure it out, but a grownup reader can see it coming a mile away. This made reading the rest of the novel a slog. In a sea of middle grades fantasy, this was was sweet, but it doesn't stand out, and as a result, I don't have a whole lot to say about it.

In the established tradition of fantasy novels, The Mark of the Dragonfly is the start of a series. The second book, The Secrets of Solace is already out, but I wasn't impressed enough with Dragonfly to continue on with it. This was a fun read, but that's about all.