[LM_NET] Dragon's Keep Audio Book review

[Christine Rayl <cjrayl@YAHOO.COM>]

This is a beautiful story and a great audio book - I am disappointed that it is not 
suitable for my elementary library patrons.

Carey, Janet Lee. 2008. Dragon’s Keep. Performed by Bianca Amato. New York: 
Recorded Book  ISBN: 978-1-4281-8317-9

Grades 6 - 12

The audio of Dragon’s Keep by Janet Lee Carey is a beautiful recording that 
captures the listener wholeheartedly in a fantasy tale that is so well written that 
one is hard pressed to remember that it is a fantasy. Dragons, a beautiful girl, a 
handsome prince and all the other ingredients are there for a fantasy fairy tale 
but due to the masterly writing of Carey, they become living, breathing characters 
that could well exist in today’s world.

Based on a hint of the Pendragon heritage of Arthur, the story’s preface explains 
why the family of the main character, Rosalind, is still exiled on Wilde Island 
after more than 600 years. It is at that time that the listener is made aware of a 
prophecy from Merlin that follows the family through the centuries and reaching 
fruition with the birth of Rosalind. Rosalind is all that is beautiful and smart 
yet she is born with a deformity that would mean her death, a deformity whereby the 
fourth finger on her left hand is actually the small claw of a dragon. 

Dragons play a large part in this story as they are the enemies of the people on 
Wilde Island. As a young teenage girl, Rosalind willingly exiles herself to the 
Dragon’s island in exchange for her people’s safety where she is slave and 
nursemaid to 4 baby dragons who tolerate her because of her claw. Throughout her 
enslavement, Rosalind remains strong yet comes to care and love the dragons, 
understanding the role that people have played in the dragons’ slow destruction. 

Without elaborating on the plot, the listener will become engrossed in Rosalind and 
the movements of this story. As a character, she grows and develops throughout, 
becoming stronger through unbelievable strife. As with most fantasy fairy tales, 
there are the wicked, the seemingly impossible situations, and the fantastical yet 
they are so plausible to the story. Rosalind does fulfill Merlin’s prophesy by 
uniting a people, two sentient species, and most importantly accepting herself. It 
is through the masterly writing of Carey that this world comes alive, that the 
characters are so real, and that the events are so well realized. The lilting and 
beautiful voice of Bianca Amato aptly conveys the many characters, including the 
dangerous dragons, and while some may find her accent a bit difficult initially, 
the accent soon becomes a part of the background of this story. The recording is 
superb with well placed disc endings at the conclusion of chapters as
 well as notifying the listener when it is time to change discs. Sadly, this audio 
book would not be suitable for elementary but is more suitable for middle and high 
school listeners due to complexity of language.


Christine Rayl, Librarian
Bowie Elementary School
Grand Prairie ISD
Texas

cjrayl@yahoo.com


      

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