No Such Thing as Dragons

Reeve, Philip. No Such Thing As Dragons. Scholastic Press. New York, NY. 2009.

No Such Thing As Dragons is a strange book with multiple genres. It is confusing and fast-moving in some parts, chewing over the fact that it is a painfully long story for an average-sized book. Reeve is an author whose writing description and styles are always changing, but has a pattern in his work that keeps you somewhat hesitant to skip a page or two.

The main focus of No Such Thing As Dragons is a story, only covering about half the pages in the book. It is about a young boy, Aaron, who has a dragon obsession. Unlike his friends, he believes that they exist. One day, he ran and told everyone that he was bitten by a dragon. No one believed him. He had no scars or other proof, but he persevered to make them believe that it was true.

The next morning, Aaron woke up with red, scaly-textured skin and sharp, orange nails. None of that crazy infectious dragon DNA would be crawling all over his skin if only his mother had believed him and taken him to a doctor. Aaron went insane because he was so scared and excited, he felt like he was going to die. He thought he had turned into a dragon, but his severe obsession caused him to hallucinate. This part of No Such Thing As Dragons is quickly-paced and moderately sickening, considering the graphic description. Although, once you begin to read it, it’s hard to stop.

It is relieving to find yourself at the final chapter of the book, because it is an insignificant section that is no trouble to skim: the acknowledgements. In this final chapter, Reeve acknowledges everyone who made it possible for the book to be written, illustrated, published, and so on. He also acknowledges all the people who inspired him, and a short section of happenings in his childhood that influenced him to write the book.

Most people that decide to read No such thing as Dragons are making a mistake and will probably never reach the end of the book. The entire thing is lifeless. It’s hard to tell if it’s even a joke. Philip Reeve has made an idiot of himself over his childhood dreams, and it is not worth your time to read about it.

1 out of 5 stars.

Contributed by C. Corazza

January 11, 2012