Jaxon had just one job in book 1 : bring the baby dragons in the magical realm. The three of them. Unfed. It was without counting on Kavita, his best friend's little sister. She fed the dragons AND stole one of them ! Jaxon has now a new mission : find the missing dragon and save the balance between the worlds.

Dragons in a Bag is becoming one of my favorite Middle Grade series. Everything in it is perfect, from the characters to the story. I love how very different BIPOC characters come together with a mission, save magic, and become friends in the process. I love the positive interactions between the adults and the children : younger characters are given an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and fix them. And most of all, I love the magical atmosphere of the book. I know it is meant for middle graders, but it is a really sweet urban fantasy novel that older readers will enjoy as well. And it is a great inclusive story ! ( )

Jaxon and his friends deal with the fallout from the theft of one of the baby dragons in his charge.

As this sequel to Dragons in a Bag (2018) opens, Kavita, the titular dragon thief, introduces elderly Aunty to stolen baby dragon Mo. Thankfully, Aunty knows someone in Queens who can help return Mo to the realm of magic. Meanwhile, and in alternating first-person chapters, Jax is trying to find Kavi and Mo, as Mo’s siblings have grown ill as a result of the separation, as has Ma, Jax’s magical mentor and grandmother figure. Jax again teams up with his best friend and Kavi’s older brother, Vik. A third is added to their crew with “huge” Kenny, “the biggest kid in [their] class.” (Unfortunately, much is made of Kenny’s size, which feels gratuitous and unkind.) Eventually the trio finds Kavi, Aunty, and Mo, who’ve been abducted by a magical con artist. All’s well that ends well when Sis, the powerful guardian of the magic realm, shows up, but readers may wonder why the narrative decides to grapple with her choice not to intervene in injustice in our world. Her argument that human-caused problems are for humans to solve feels undeveloped, especially in the face of a massive injustice like the trans-Atlantic slave trade (mentioned during the climax and at no other point). Jax is black; Vik, Kavi, and Aunty are Indian American (though Aunty has African ancestry as well); and Kenny is white. The rest of the cast is diverse as well.

Despite missteps, this satisfying follow-up will leave readers hoping for more magical adventures with lovable Jax and company. (Urban fantasy. 7-10)

Strong sequel to the first book, with alternating points of view between Jax and Kavita. Some really interesting new characters, and I particularly love how the elders continue to be full of tricks and totally worthy of the respect that the kids feel compelled to show.

A couple of weak points -- some of the action is hard to follow, particularly after Kavita runs into Blue. Also, while the book pretty well stands on it's own, there are bits of really confusing dialogue between Sis and Jax that kind of derailed the ending for me. It might have been the audio book format, so I think I'll try to read it in print and see how it flows for me.

Update: I found it easier to follow in the print copy. ( )

Magic--Fiction. Dragons--Fiction. Witches--Fiction. Apprentices--Fiction. Stealing--Fiction. African Americans--Fiction. Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)--Fiction.