I received an advance reader galley of The Language of Spells from NetGalley. It is about Grisha, a dragon who has just broken free of an enchantment that turned him into a teapot for years, and a little girl named Maggie who lives with her father at a hotel in Vienna. Both characters are told that they would be special, but neither character really understands why they would be considered special. When Grisha and Maggie learn that there are a group of dragons that have been separated from the other dragons and basically banished, they wonder how they can help. Maggie also wonders how she can enjoy normal, everyday activities, like eating almond cake at shops, while there are things that are really wrong happening in her city. This book examines themes of friendship, inner strength and the fact that sometimes people need to sacrifice something in their own life for the benefit of the others.

Grisha is one of the last dragons left in the world. When he befriends Maggie, a lonely young girl in a Viennese hotel, the two set off to solve the decades-old mystery of what happened to many of the other dragons who survived World War II.

I wanted to love this book based on the description and cover art, but it never grabbed me the way I wanted it to. I still think the premise of dragons in Vienna is very intriguing, but I found the actual execution of the story dissatisfying. The story started out slow and fable-like, but I was always more invested in the human stories than in Grisha's. Even so, I never really connected to Maggie, and the two friends' quests to solve the mystery felt a little pointless. Vienna itself felt like it should have jumped off the page-- it's such a different and precise setting for a children's book-- but the descriptions were more real in the places Grisha went as a teapot. I'm also disappointed that the depths of humanity's darkness was illustrated by its treatment of dragons. Why set this book so precisely in a version of our world with our world wars if you're not going to address them at all? They feel like an odd and disconnected way to anchor the book's timeline.

I did enjoy the idea of the sacrifice inherent in doing magic, which was used to good effect. Some other aspects of the book must have affected me, because I found the conclusion genuinely moving. In the end, that bumped this up to a three-star read for me, despite my many nitpicky dissatisfactions. I think this will find readers in my library, but I'm sad this won't be the dragon book I'll be pushing into patrons' hands all summer.

The artwork was engaging and the story matched, this is one of those books that you buy in hardback and keep on the shelf because flipping through the pages would be such a joy.

The Language of Spells, by Garret Weyr, has a certain whimsical charm to it at times, and the warm relationship at its core is a definite plus, but it has a good number of issues that mar the reading experience, though probably less so for a younger audience.

The dragon Grisha is born in the Black Forest in a world where magic is on the wane. After a few decades of maturation (though still young in dragon terms), he’s enchanted by a sorcerer who turns him into a teapot. He lives his life in that trapped stage for many more decades, through both World Wars. Eventually he ends up in Vienna, kept like the few other remaining dragons, under tight surveillance by the bureaucracy. It is there he meets and bonds with eleven-year-old Maggie. Together the two decided to go on a quest to find and free a large group of dragons rumored to have gone missing.

The relationship between Maggie and Grisha is the best part of The Language of Spells, warmly, gently endearing with more than a whiff of melancholy to it thanks to both having suffered loss in their lives—Maggie’s mother died when she was very young and Grisha, in combination to his lost decades, has his own absences to grieve.

Also a positive is the parallels that run between the storyline here and real-life events of WWII and afterward, with refugees, forced detention, and the like. Weyr offers up some serious questions about how good people turn away from evil, what it means to lose one’s openness to wonder, the impact of power on an individual, sacrifice, and more.

Finally, there are some lovely moments of whimsy and magic here, such as the aforementioned transformation of Grisha into a teapot, and a few other such details.

On the down side, there are a lot of problems with the novel. The opening 60 or so pages, pre-Vienna, are a lot of at first exposition and then a lot that didn’t really feel particularly necessary. The opening isn’t helped by a bit of a twee narrative voice that had me considering giving up for the first 10 or 12 pages or so (that style did get dropped). I’d have recommended cutting it in half at least if not simply dropping it altogether. Later other parts seem to go by too quickly or conversely, we spend a little too long on some scenes. Some scenes feel contrived and the quest is relatively passive and repetitive.

The world-building is quite thin; I never really understood how dragons fit into this world. Even in little pragmatic details like how they hang around in a hotel bar—are they on all fours? Using human chairs? And there’s a fair amount of hand-waving things away.

And lastly, I wish those parallels between real world events would have been made a bit more pointed. As it is, it’s hard to imagine most young readers picking up on them, though I’d certainly hope an adult who reads it with their child would use it as a springboard for conversation.

In many ways, The Language of Spells has more negatives than positives, which would lead one would think to a clear “do not recommend” review. But honestly, I so enjoyed the camaraderie between the two protagonists so much that I’m going to give it a “recommend with major reservations,” with an additional caveat that my complaints will probably matter much less to younger readers, which makes me feel more comfortable with the recommendation.

This is an adorable middle grade book and I might have teared up just a bit finishing it... the illustrations really add to the story. it was a nice quick read perfect for fans of the girl who circumvented fairyland.

I received this book as an ARC thanks to Net Galley!
Unfortunately due to formatting issues I was unable to download this much-anticipated title to read...
I am so sad...

While the cover is certainly going to appeal to many, the style of writing might be difficult for some middle schoolers and might keep them from enjoying a good story.  The style is some what old fashioned and it can be a slow read because of the that.  Told from the perspective of Grisha and Maggie is a tale that is magical but also offers up some world history.  I really liked both characters, they have an interesting perspective on the world, and Grisha offers some fascinating insight into the world of magic.  I also liked that most of the story is set in Vienna, but they travel to London and Rome.  Once you get past some of the early story about what happens to Grisha, which was a tad boring, you are treated to a wonderful story full of friendship and the willingness to sacrifice that friendship in order to do what is right.  This is not a story for everyone, but for those who find it they will cherish it.  I would recommend it to those who loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

This is not a story that will appeal to everyone (perhaps not even some of those intrigued by the description). It starts out slowly. The main plot makes a rather late entrance, which results in a resolution that may strike readers as rushed.Despite this irregular pacing, however, I enjoyed "The Language of Spells" immensely. is irregular pacing, however, I enjoyed "The Language of Spells" immensely.

In my library, covers make kids want to pick up the book and read it. This cover is excellent. I will very likely purchase this book when it comes out in June.

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me a copy of “The Language of Spells″ by Garret Weyr in exchange for my review. Before I begin, I would like to say that I have read some of the other reviews for this book, where readers criticize it for not doing justice for WWII and Jewish people. I am not basing my rating on that aspect as I didn’t have these expectations when reading the story. Having said that, this book was a mixed bag for me. While I enjoyed some aspects of the story, I had a few problems reading it.

Let’s start off with the pros that stood out in the story. Firstly, I loved the plot and the concept, and actually enjoyed reading the first half of the book. It starts off as a fairy tale and talks about a magical world where dragons and men coexist. Secondly, I simply adored the main protagonists, Grisha and Maggie, and their unusual friendship. Some scenes were intriguing, like when Grisha turns into a teapot, not knowing what would happen next. Grisha also has some memorable moments like facing self-esteem issues because he feels that he hasn’t done anything worthwhile. I also enjoyed the special friendship that is formed between Maggie and Grisha. It’s very gradual and innocent and comes off as a true friendship between the two. Even the secondary characters like Yakov, and his daughters Ella and Rachel are very charming.

However, the second half of the book didn’t hold my interest as I hoped. Mainly, I found the villain of the book, Leopold Lashkovic, to be very boring. The authors give him a big buildup and make him scary and powerful. But, when Maggie comes face to face with him, he seems like such an old weakling who hardly has any powers. There is no closure given as to what happens to him either. Assuming that this is a standalone, it’s very frustrating when things are left open ended. Moreover, things run very smoothly for Grisha and Maggie on their quest and they hardly face any dangers. With a weak villain and the characters not facing any dilemmas, this was pretty much boring in the second half.

Furthermore, I felt that the pacing was haphazard towards the climax. The story is slow for the most part and suddenly rushes to a conclusion. It felt like the characters are aimlessly wandering, and just stumbled upon clues that magically solved all their problems. I also had trouble with the concept of who could see dragons and who couldn’t. For example, when they go to see Ella and Rachel, Ella can see Grisha but Rachel cannot. However, when they go to London, how can nobody see Grisha except Maggie? This didn’t make sense and I dad trouble connecting to the story-line. I feel like the authors had a great idea going but didn’t know how to steer the story and patched it in places to conclude it.

Katie Harnett has provided nice illustrations, but they are a bit rough on the eyes. As I have read the advanced copy, I hope the illustrations are cleaned up in the final version, and makes the book stand out. Overall, this was a good attempt to try something different but it didn’t have the impact on me as I imagined it would. I rate “The Language of Spells” 3/5 stars.

This was just an okay book in my opinion. While I thought this was a great book perfect for young readers it just wasn’t the best middle-grade dragon book I have read. It had enough magic for the young readers to enjoy, I just am not the intended audience and it kinda shows.

This is a sweet dragon take set in a world that has just experienced World Wars. With a mainly European setting. Which was different and kind of exciting for me. It was full of whimsy, mystery, and above all magic.

The main character is a girl named Maggie who is eleven years old. She lives with her father in a hotel called Sacher in Vienna, Austria. She was quirky but your average child. Loving, brilliant, and awkward was she.

Grisha is a very special dragon. He is a peaceful dragon loving his home, loving his childhood until an evil sorcerer turns him into a teapot. He stays that way for many, many years. Passed down from one generation unto the next and being resold many times. He has lost contact with other dragons. He has no idea what has happened to his family, his land or his friends. What will happen when they meet? I won’t spoil it for you so you have to read and find out. The idea of it is just darling though.

Overall, I thought it was a cute read but that was about it. I gave this book about 3.5 stars out of 5. The writing was just not my taste and there were issues with the believability of the timeline.


Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a dragon’s tale set during and post the World Wars with a European backdrop. Thus, an unexpected setting, it is a whimsical read for young middle graders about friendship and survival during authoritarian rule.

Grisha was born a very special dragon. He loved his childhood among the forest and others of his kind. Far away seemed the idea that anything could ever happen that would change his peaceful life. But when an evil sorcerer turns him into a teapot, his whole being stays froze for many, many years. Passed down from owner to owner and being sold and resold, he has no idea what is happening to all the other dragons and his family in the land.

Maggie is 11 years old and lives with her father in the Sacher hotel in Vienna, Austria. Unusual, but there also is nothing usual about her. She is of the quirky sort, brilliant, but has a hard time making friends.

When Maggie and Grisha meet and become friends, they learn of what has happened to the other dragons and of the Department of Extinct Exotics (D.E.E.) that is run by cats…or rather humans that can shape-shift into cats magically. Since the WWII some years ago, dragons have been removed and oppressed. There are strict rules about the ones that are remaining in the city and those that have been deported.

This takes the two unlikely friends on an adventure throughout Europe and full circle back home to realize and understand how to free the other dragons. Along their path they must solve riddles, be careful to avoid looming dangers, magic spells and the DEE. Despite the trials and time running out, the friendship and trust of Maggie and Grisha becomes a big part of the storytelling that will appeal to any child that has ever loved magical stories of adventure and believed in something beyond the real world.

***

I thought this was a darling book perfect for young readers. Still magical enough for the young, yet beyond a small chapter book to enjoy.

Unlike other reviews of this book, I do not believe it was paralleling the story line of the WW’s. According to the books timeline, it goes way beyond those years by 30 years or so. However, I do believe it took on the idea of living things (dragons) being treated unfairly. It would be a gentle introduction in the subject of power, leadership and liberty no matter where in the world.

Besides the implications of a world in unrest, I thought the idea of the mid 20th century setting with dragons in Europe was darling. Whimsical and exotic in a way. The foreign cities will perhaps encourage young readers to find out more of these countries or simply become fantasy readers in the making. I thought it a lovely read.

The Language of Spells is a beautiful, magical adventure story set against the backdrop of WWII era Europe. It is also a historical allegory that speaks to the atrocities of the Holocaust without speaking of them directly. It does start a little slowly but I was hooked very early on and didn't want to put it down. The young female protagonist, Maggie, is a wonderful character and I love her strength and curiosity and the relationship she has with her father. (Her father is really the unsung hero of this book.) It is not a perfect book but its flaws are far outweighed by the beautiful writing and engaging story. I would recommend this to fans of dragons, magical quests and adventure.

This was a rather cute and quick read! From the beginning, you grow very attached to both characters thanks to the detailed and tenderly presented narration. It has the feel of a fantasy novel, but, at its heart, it's a story about friendship and sacrifice. It's an adventure not just for children, and the ending might leave you a bit teary-eyed. Overall, it was an enjoyable read that truly had a sort of 'comfy' feeling. I'd recommend it!

I really enjoyed this book about a dragon under an enchantment and the little girl who gives up everything to save him and his fellow dragons!

Grisha is still a young dragon when an evil sorcerer freezes him into the shape of a small teapot. Trapped within the teapot for decades, Grisha dreams of being free once more, but as soon as a friend breaks the enchantment of the teapot, Grisha is trapped in another kind of prison. The cruel bureaucracy of Vienna keeps a close watch on the few dragons allowed to remain in the city, and every aspect of Grisha's life is locked between rigid rules and regulations, even restricting his thoughts and words.

Little Maggie is the daughter of a poet and painter, and sees the world differently than most people. When she befriends Grisha, the two embark on a quest to free Vienna's dragons from the cruel Department of Extinct Exotics. The DEE is run by merciless enchanted cats, who seem determined to stop Maggie and Grisha from overturning their authority over the dragons.
Grisha and Maggie discover that most of the dragons are missing, taken away by the DEE. In order to restore the missing dragons, they must give up everything they hold dear and stretch their friendship to the limit.

I loved the plot, once it finally got going. Way too much time was spent in Grisha's teapot-enchanted timeline, and we don't even meet Maggie until almost half-way into the story. It would have been much better to shorten the beginning, or gradually reveal Grisha's past through flashbacks or stories that he tells to Maggie.

I loved the magic and fairy-tale elements of the story! The "magic has a price" system is one that I've always enjoyed reading about, and I was intrigued by the enchanted cats and the various characteristics of the dragons.

I really adored Maggie! She's awkward and smart and compassionate. She's desperate to make friends, but doesn't seem to connect with other children. She finally meets Grisha and finds a friend that she can really understand and relate to. Maggie's special relationship with her father is very sweet and touching. They stick together as a family, and communicate very well.

Grisha is an interesting character. Being a dragon, he's quite different from what you would expect, and he often reacts in odd ways to various scenes and plot points. But that makes him a deeper character, and a lovable one! He's sometimes brave, sometimes cautious to the point of cowardice. A beautiful complex character in many ways!

The writing is whimsical and thoughtful, but the beginning is just too long, and then the ending is too short. At times the writing got a little bit boring, because it had some problems with pacing. The pace is slow and thoughtful, almost putting the reader into a calm, meditative state. This is part of it's charm, and I liked the pace most of the time, but every once in a while, I just wanted something to really happen! There isn't a ton of action, especially in the beginning. Then all the action is crowded into the end.

I really needed more explanation at the end, and more of a denouement. It IS a satisfactory ending in many ways, but I just needed one more little chapter, one more paragraph or two to really wrap things up nicely. Maybe it's left hanging on purpose, so that your imagination can fill in the gaps. It's certainly an artistic ending, but I'm a reader who likes lots of closure.

Overall, I really liked the characters and the plot, but the writing sometimes fell short.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

I ended up not finishing this one. I couldn't get into it. I hope it finds the proper audience.

I rarely keep four pages of notes for feedback comments while reading a NetGalley title, but The Language of Spells is so brilliantly written, intelligent and well-constructed that I couldn’t help myself. This is the first Garret Weyr book I’ve read and I was continually wowed by her observant, keen eye and understated wit: when Grisha and Maggie go to the dragon/magic Government Office, the worker greets them with “hope has no place here.” I laughed out loud. Another: “There was only one thing that might lead them to a potion. “Let’s get cookies” she said, “that always helps.” More laughter. Weyr writes in a rich yet deceptively simple third person voice that feels like I’m listening to a wizened storyteller instead of reading the text myself; she tells a highly visual story. The novel is well-structured: Grisha and Maggie’s lack of memories of their past is one of the things that unites them yet both receive some closure as the novel progresses. The author’s respect for her reader’s maturity shows in the conclusion: Maggie puts herself to bed “for the first time” and knows that magic is there, even if she can’t see it. It would have felt like a sellout to have Grisha appear. Weyr also doesn’t fumble any details of the fantasy world she creates amidst the very real 1990’s Vienna; every nuance is explained. I also loved looking up the real places (Sacher Hotel, Blaue Bar) Maggie and Grisha visit in Vienna. If a visit to this historic city inspired Weyr to write this inspired, imaginative, original tale, then I’ve GOT to go there! I look forward to flashtalking this book to young readers this summer and adding it to mock Newbery lists.

This book was interesting. I really didn't LOVE the story, and I found myself getting bored and moving on to something else. It took me a long time to get into it, and I really don't think I was ever rewarded for my efforts. This book just simply wasn't for me. The writing style was good, and the characters were charming... but this ultimately was just not a good fit for me personally.

For fans of Artemis Fowl, Rick Riordan's books, etc. A good little fantasy for the right reader.

Clever if somewhat slow paced fantasy novel for the grade 5-7 set. Not available in a Kindle format, which I really wish NetGalley would advertise before the request is made.