Burn

Patrick Ness

On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm…

Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.

The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul, but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.

Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.

_____

Wow! This book started out slowly for me but quickly picked up until I wanted to rocket through the book to find out what happened next! I found it surprising to read a story about 1950s rural America … with *dragons* in it as accepted everyday occurrences. I was not prepared for the prophesy, threats, bloodbath and resolution as the story culminated to its’ end.
 
 I've now read a handful of Ness stories and find I absolutely LOVE them!
 Chaos Walking Trilogy:
 The Knife Of Never Letting Go
 The Ask And The Answer
 Monsters Of Men
 Stand-alone books:
 A Monster Calls
 The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
 And The Ocean Was Our Sky
 There are other worlds than this. (a Stephen King quote, but appropriate for this story)

Heidi Y.