Dragon Wars by Emily Fogle

The story revolves around Danny Warren, a young boy who is frequently bullied by Kevin Brady, "every kids' worst nightmare" in middle school. The one person not afraid to stand up to him is Milly Parker, who has known him since kindergarten. In an attempt to keep Danny off the bully's radar, the principal sends Danny home from school for the rest of the day after a teacher catches Kevin about to punch him. At home, his mother sends him to his room to unpack his things, something he has put off doing for as long as possible.

After his father's death the previous year in a car accident, his mother decided to move to a new house in a new town to escape the memories that filled their old home. All he felt in the new house was lonely and sad; he wanted things to go back to the way they were. While storing his pictures, baseball trophies, and equipment inside a bench under the window, he discovers a hollow space under one of the boards at the bottom. Inside, he finds a box beautifully carved with dragons and a book.

Danny has always loved dragons. Opening the book, he finds a treasure trove in the form of beautifully detailed drawings of dragons and a story of their world. He learns from reading that the way to enter their world is to believe. Just believe. This is a beautiful story about a young boy's trip to a fantasy world with dragons and other fantastical creatures. While there, he is found and befriended by the dragon carved on the outside of the box.

The dragon's world is in trouble and Danny is driven to help fix things. Along the way, he faces trials that place him squarely in the center of a war and finds an inner strength he didn't know he had. This is a beautiful story about a boy who finds the will and strength to stand up for himself as he helps his friends. Well written, well edited, this story was a pleasure to read.

I was gifted this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.While an excellent book, I am only giving it four stars. I enjoyed the story immensely, but I was still able to put it down when it came time to take care of other things. I reserve five-star status for books that pull me in until I've lost all track of time and conscious awareness of anything else going on around me.

This book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.