The Awakening Storm

I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and wild ride!

You can’t review a graphic novel without first talking about the artwork. The art in this book is colorful, vibrant, and full of life. It complemented the story beautifully. Additionally, the dragon illustrations were superb. They were depicted as fierce and majestic.

The story was so entertaining. I’m a sucker for fantasy adventure quests. Plus, who doesn’t love a tale about dragons? At the same time, there was also a lot of heart and emotion throughout which gave the story some balance.

However, the ending felt a little convoluted. There was a lot going on. Luckily, this is the first book in the series, so more show more will be revealed in the coming book. The end does set up the next book nicely. I am very intrigued to see it how unfolds.

I also loved the characters. Grace and all her friends were fleshed out, dynamic characters. I was glad that their backgrounds were touched upon. It made them feel more real and relatable.

Overall, this was a highly amusing graphic novel. It’s aimed at middle grade readers, but can be enjoyed by people of all ages. If you’re a fan of dragons or Chinese mythology, be sure to check this one out! show less

The artwork is snazzy (it’s giving me Webtoon energy lol), but in the first few pages there’s a lot going on story-wise. Grace feels alienated due to her mixed ancestry (Chinese dad, white mom), and her dad tries to cheer her up with surfing. Jump forward three years later, Grace’s going to an international school in Hong Kong. There are some cliché beats, a la wise, old person gifts MC with a magical item/creature, but it works. Tropes aren’t inherently bad, but it’s how you use them.

As always, I love dragons (Eastern or Western), and I think kids will probably enjoy this one.

When Grace moves to Hong Kong after her father’s death with her mom and new stepdad, she is concerned about fitting in at her fancy new school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons her father told her when she was a young girl might be real - especially when the egg hatches.
When bad guys show up, she and her friends race against time to get help. Someone wants the dragon for their own purposes, but our Grace isn't going to let that go down.

Initial reactions/impressions of the novel:
• Artwork is expressive and colorful
• Not sure about having the main character smack someone with a skateboard – even a bully…
• Chinese mythology is very cool

Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mom and stepdad who works for a medical research company. In the market, a lady with blue eyes gives Grace a dragon egg. It soon hatches into a dragon! This pulls Grace and her new group of friends into a quest and adventure. Soon the chase is on from people who want to steal the dragon and use it's powers. Grace and her friends have to outwit and figure out mythology to survive and save the dragon. This graphic was difficult for me to read in some parts due to shiny pages and tiny font, but that is probably more a function of my eyes rather than book design.

In The City of Dragons, the main character Grace is having trouble getting used to her new stepparent, and many kids will have a lot in common with that. Grace, her mom, and her new dad moved to Hong Kong, and her parents are worried that she will have trouble making new friends. She is going to this new really fancy school, and she mets her new friend there. They go on a field trip one day, and Grace is given a big egg from a palm reader. I'm not going to say anymore, but it's a really good book, and you should definitely read it.
Chiara, 2022

This was such a good graphic novel. I really quick read. I really liked how this story was not only set hon long and dealt with harder issues like grief, friendship and adjusting to a new life. I also loved the focus on chinese mythology. I also really liked how this story progressed liked that it was action adventure with a a heavy focus on myths and dragons. It was really compeling story, with a realy nice art style!! I will def be checking out book 2!

This was such a good graphic novel. I really quick read. I really liked how this story was not only set hon long and dealt with harder issues like grief, friendship and adjusting to a new life. I also loved the focus on chinese mythology. I also really liked how this story progressed liked that it was action adventure with a a heavy focus on myths and dragons. It was really compeling story, with a realy nice art style!! I will def be checking out book 2!