The Story of Owen

In the town of Trondheim, in eastern Canada, dragon attacks are an everyday occurrence. The town of Trondheim depends on the Thorskards, a famous family of dragon slayers, to protect them from the threat of attack. Owen is the youngest in the Thorskards family, but he does not look like a typical strong and fierce slayer. So he soon enlist the help of classmate Siobhan McQuaid to be his bard and help train him. Siobhan narrates the story of Owen and how they helped save the town from a horrible fate. - SB

Siobhan's life intertwines with Owen's, part of a famous dragon slaying family in Ontario. Dragons and dragon attacks area fact of life. The Thorskard family recruits Siobhan, a talented musician and a bit of a homebody, to become part of their clan at to act as Owen's bard, telling tales and writing songs celebrating his dragon slaying. This fantasy reads like a realistic fiction, dealing with friendship issues, school problems, family, with a big side of dragon fighting. The characters are likable, the story keeps moving.

Listen! For I sing of Owen Thorskard: valiant of heart, hopeless at algebra, last in a long line of legendary dragon slayers. Though he had few years and was not built for football, he stood between the town of Trondheim and creatures that threatened its survival. There have always been dragons. As far back as history is told, men and women have fought them, loyally defending their villages. Dragon slaying was a proud tradition. But dragons and humans have one thing in common: an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. From the moment Henry Ford hired his first dragon slayer, no small town was safe. Dragon slayers flocked to cities, leaving more remote areas unprotected. Such was Trondheim's fate until Owen Thorskard arrived. At sixteen, with dragons advancing and his grades plummeting, Owen faced impossible odds armed only with a sword, his legacy, and the classmate who agreed to be his bard. Listen! I am Siobhan McQuaid. I alone know the story of Owen, the story that changes everything.

A pretty good book, well written, yet one I had a hard time really digging into. Constantly felt my attention being diverted. Had to break most of my readings into smaller chunks due to inattention I was feeling. On a positive note for recommending to teens: the story is clean and can be recommended to most anyone based on appropriateness.

While the concept and story was delightful, the matter a fact writing just wasn't for me and thus I struggled to even finish this.