Sky Pirates: The Dragon's Gold - Alex English

Warning:  if you haven't yet read Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond, this review will contain spoilers, but I promise there are no spoilers for book 2!

Echo is enjoying life with her mum Indigo Lil and the other Black Sky Wolves.  Horace is back in Lockfort but comes to visit in the early stages of the book.  Echo is keen to prove herself to her mum and is full of pride when she is taken to get her first cutlass, only to be disappointed by what she receives.  Determined to prove to Lil that she is the same as the others, she intercepts a message that arrives for Lil, summoning her to a meeting of the Seven Skies Alliance, a meeting of different pirate crews.  Echo passes the message on but also decides that she (and Horace) will sneak along to find out what is happening.  What they overhear leads them on a perilous race against the other pirate crews to find the treasure they all seek.  But can she make it in time?

Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond is a wonderful book and one I have great affection for as it was the book I chose to read to my Year 6 bubble class last year when we returned to school after lockdown 1.  They were utterly gripped and often used to ask me to read to them whilst they ate lunch!  It was both my love of the book as well as their reaction that lead me to use it as our Year 6 novel study at the beginning of this year and has been as big a hit with this Year 6 as last year.  

With that in mind, it was with great excitement that I began reading Sky Pirates: The Dragon's Gold and, I have to say, it was just wonderful to be back with Echo, Gilbert and Horace once again.  At the start of the book, it is clear that Echo is happy to finally feel she is where she belongs and she seems settled; however, it quickly becomes apparent that she still has some insecurities that she worries about: why does her mum seem distant at times?  Why has she been given her own cutlass yet?  Why does she feel that she's not as good as the others?  It is these concerns that lead her towards this new adventure and it's here that we see Echo at her best: she is headstrong and determined, fearless (most of the time!) and is driven by her desire to prove herself.  Her friendship with Horace has clearly grown, as has Horace (to an extent), although he still prefers to play it safe - much to Echo's frustration!  It's great to read the two characters together and to see the way they compliment each other.  

I think the adventure in this book is even better than in book 1!  The perilous journey, the kidnappings, not to mention the inventions (the mechanical parrot, the invisible Aethernets and the most wonderful library) and the daring-do are in full flow.  It's a gripping read that you won't want to put down, with themes of friendship, family and loyalty appearing strongly from the start. 

With illustrations from Mark Chambers again enhancing the story, this is a must-buy book that will keep you enthralled this August when it's released.