Dragon Wishes by Stacy Nyikos

Alex and Isa are having trouble adjusting to their new home and family in San Francisco. It hasn’t been long since their parents’ death, or The Accident, and neither sister is coping well. Young Isa seems to be doing better than Alex, despite the fact that Isa has stopped talking; Isa is at least trying to accept her new life while all Alex wants is for life to be as it was before The Accident. She wants to go back home to Oklahoma. She doesn’t having much hope of realizing that desire until her Auntie Ling tells her a bedtime story about dragons. The story increases her belief that there is magic and that maybe she can wish her way back home. Along the way, Alex will realize where she truly belongs and where her home is.

Dragon Wishes starts off well, and I’m glad to say it only gets better from there. I was drawn immediately into Alex’s tale because I wanted to know how she would deal with this major change in her life and because she was such a compelling main character. Alex was very well-developed and I enjoyed reading along with her journey. The other characters were not as well-developed as I’d have liked them to be, but this is minor considering this story was primarily told from Alex’s point-of-view. I thought it was very unique for Nyikos to incorporate the Chinese dragon tale and was surprised that it didn’t really distract me from the main storyline, which I commend Nyikos for. I also really liked the mix of American, Chinese, and German cultures although I felt there could’ve been more German culture because that was Alex’s heritage. There were a few bits and pieces in the story that I felt weren’t necessary, such as Alex’s guy crush and things that could’ve been improved, like the strength of Alex’s friendship with Maddie. Nevertheless, Dragon Wishes was a well-written and moving story about family.

I was very impressed with Nyikos’ debut middle grade novel and hope she plans to write more in the future. Dragon Wishes can be enjoyed by both younger and older readers, particularly fans of books with Chinese culture or novels with dragons. Readers who liked Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson will also enjoy this story.

Rating: 3.75

Review copy from author Stacy Nyikos